It's a sad fact of life that in the major cities of the world, missing person cases are a dime a dozen. In places like London, New York and Tokyo, tens of thousands of people vanish every year, to the point where they’re barely even newsworthy. But in a quiet seaside village like Killala, on the west coast of Ireland, the disappearance of just one person can upend an entire community. That’s what happened when twenty eight year old Sandra Collins left her home on a wet December night in the...

On the 23rd of March 2020, due to the growing threat posed by the coronavirus, the United Kingdom locked down. For most of us, it marked the start of many months spent trapped in our homes, where the lack of freedom and face to face contact with others, had a profound effect on our collective mental health.  One such person was James Miller, a thirty-seven year old mechanic, who on the night of December 22nd 2020 walked out of his family home, never to return. James was already wrestling...

500 yards is a relatively short distance. Its about the length of four and a half football pitches, a journey most of us could make in six minutes or less. It also happens to be the distance between Sperrings community shop on Lower Addiscombe Road in Croydon and the home of the Hicks family. On a cold spring night in 1986, sixteen year old Kevin Hicks walked out his front door with nothing but a pound in his pocket and headed in the direction of the local shop to buy some eggs. He never...

Rachel Pickthall has been birdwatching for as long as she can remember. It's a passion she shared with her older brother Simon and as children, the pair spent many an evening together camped out in their back garden, bird guide in one hand and binoculars in the other. In late December 2013, Simon, then aged 48, travelled to Bempton Cliffs on the Yorkshire coast, the UK's largest mainland seabird colony. The last few years hadn't been kind to him. His marriage had broken down and he had...

Rachel Pickthall has been birdwatching for as long as she can remember. It's a passion she shared with her older brother Simon and as children, the pair spent many an evening together camped out in their back garden, bird guide in one hand and binoculars in the other. In late December 2013, Simon, then aged 48, travelled to Bempton Cliffs on the Yorkshire coast, the UK's largest mainland seabird colony. The last few years hadn't been kind to him. His marriage had broken down and he had...

Sandra Gant of Clacton-on-Sea in Essex has three daughters, Carrie, Michaela and Lauren. Their relationship with their mother has always been fraught, complicated as it was by her struggles with alcoholism. Sandra lost a lot of battles with her demons over the years but as we all know, addiction is a war…one Sandra was very much still fighting when she disappeared on the 14th of November, 2003. The Gant siblings knew the police could only be so helpful...Only they knew their mother's routine,...

Consider what the average person goes through when they’re trying to locate a missing loved one. For starters there’s the ongoing dialogue with the authorities, where you’re doing your utmost to provide the investigation with the information it needs to progress. Then you have the media, as well as poster and online campaigns to manage, in an effort to get the word out as quickly as possible. Finally there’s fraught emotions to contend with, those of your immediate family first and foremost,...

It doesn’t matter how old your children get, whenever they go on a trip you’re always dreading that phone call…The one that often comes in the early hours of the morning…The one with the solemn voice at the end of the line.  The Nutley family of the Welsh village of Caerwent, received one such call in October 2004. James, who at 25 was the eldest son, had failed to return to his hotel after the first night of a golfing trip. His mother Catherine, wasting no time, immediately drove the hundred...

When Carmel Fenech went missing in London in the summer of 1998, her mother Deirdre, of Broadfield, Crawley, didn’t panic. She was well practised at bringing her daughter home.This wasn't the first, second or even tenth time her child had gone AWOL. Carmel had a well documented drug problem, one that had pulled her into the orbit of people and places that no-one, let alone a sixteen year old girl, should find themselves. Deirdre knew exactly what corners to go to and what doors to knock...

Steven Clark vanished more than two decades ago, aged just 23. But speculation as to what happened has swirled ever since.

The Missing is BACK - Launching on June 12th - a brand new series with TEN more stories of long-term missing people. Once again brought to you with the support of the charities Locate International and Missing People, and Podimo UK, and hosted by Pandora Sykes. A What's The Story Sounds Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Take a look on the list of missing people on the missingpeople website, and you’ll see a large number of them are Vietnamese nationals. For years, traffickers have been bringing young people into the country from Vietnam – often illegally – and these people have then gone missing. This episode explores this issue – asking how they arrive in the country, why they vanish, and why it’s often the case that they’ll escape the relative safety of local authority care to once again disappear. If you...

Anthony was 27 years old when he vanished in 2012, near his home in Colchester, Essex. He withdrew cash at an ATM a few minutes walk from the house he shared with his parents. But from there… he seemingly vanished. Police investigators used data from his phone to reveal he’d last been around 2-3 miles from home, but they had no clue exactly where he had gone, or why. And for ten years there has been no further sightings. If you have information on any of the cases covered in the podcast,...

Lorraine was 35-years-old and lived in Essex. She was last seen by her partner, in 1998, waving him off in a taxi as he took a trip abroad. When he returned, there was no sign of Lorraine, and there have been no sightings since. This episode tells Lorraine’s story and asks listeners if they might hold the vital clue which could finally resolve this mystery. If you have information on any of the cases covered in the podcast, please visit TheMissingPodcast.org, where you can find contact...

Philip was 21 years old when he was last seen leaving a Christmas party, at a Navy barracks in Liverpool. He was last seen getting into a taxi with two women and another man. But from there – what happened to Philip isn’t known. Helicopters and police divers searched 200 miles of coastline, with no trace of him. This episode explores the events around his disappearance, and the efforts from his family to track down the answers they so badly need. If you have information on any of the cases...

Stephen was 21 years old when he travelled to France, to take part in the grape harvest, in 1975. He arrived, and worked on the vineyards. And at the end of picking season he travelled to northern France, by train. But from there – the trail goes cold. This episode asks what happened to Stephen, and follows the clues as to where he went next. If you have information on any of the cases covered in the podcast, please visit TheMissingPodcast.org, where you can find contact information as well...

This episode takes us into the UK care system – and the story of how a young girl disappeared after a string of failed foster placements. We hear from her sister Rebecca – still desperate for news on what happened to Louise – amid fears that she fell into a dangerous crowd, and perhaps came to harm. Louise was 18 when she vanished, in June 2005, from her home in Durham, with the last sighting a week later in North London. If you have information on any of the cases covered in the podcast,...

This extraordinary story is a current live investigation. When a body was found floating in the North Sea in July 1994, it was German police who began an investigation – they learned that the man was in his 40’s or 50’s, smartly dressed, and he became known as ‘The Gentleman’. But despite extensive investigations, they couldn’t identify him, and the man was buried in a un-named grave. Now – working with Locate International, the German Police are re-investigating. They believe that the...

Thomas disappeared at the age of 31, in 2003. He was in Italy, in the town of Ancona, when he withdrew some money from an ATM. But from there – there has been no contact from Thomas to his family. This episode explores a brothers love – a story of a man who would often go travelling, on religious pilgrimages, and who would sometimes disappear for periods of time. And it’s a story of hope, that Thomas will be found alive and well. The episode charts a number of more recent sightings, of people...

In every murder investigation, there's one key item which could bring a killer to justice. But finding it....and knowing what evidence it contains....well that's the challenge. Because the smoking gun could be anything. A bouquet of flowers...a Chinese meal...a mosquito. In this series – Produced by the makers of ‘The Missing’, we tell the remarkable true stories of how everyday items such as these have been the key to unlocking a criminal case. And we unpack the science - revealing the...

Mary was 6-year-old when she disappeared in March 1977, in the Republic if Ireland. Her case is the longest running missing-child case in Ireland, a mystery which triggered a huge search from the police, army, and hundreds of local volunteers. Mary was last seen walking towards her grandparents farm. But despite that massive land search, no sign of Mary, or where she went, was ever uncovered. If you have information on any of the cases covered in the podcast, please...

Lee was 15 year old, when he was last seen in September 1988, on Sutton High Street. His case is one of the highest profile missing children’s cases – a young lad who had told his parents he was off to watch a football match, but who never returned home. It’s a case which has links to known paedophiles, an extensive nationwide campaign, and a determined effort from Lee’s family to find answers. If you have information on any of the cases covered in the podcast, please...

Andrew Capon disappeared on October 2, 1998 after a night out in Ingoldmells. The father of three from Grantham was out with some friends after going to the coast to close down his caravan. He became separated from the group and vanished, never to be seen again. Andrew was last spotted on North Parade in Skegness at around 1am. His ex-partner, Sue, shares her desperation to find out what happened to him. If you have information on any of the cases covered in the podcast, please visit...

Fiona Sinnott, 19, went missing on February 8, 1998, after leaving her local pub inBroadway, Ireland, to make the 14km walk back to her home. She was never seen again. Fiona’s cousin and sister reveal what they believe happened to her, as well as how the family took the search for her into their own hands. And the episode explores a terrifying detail: Fiona is just one of a number of lone women, who disappeared from an area of Ireland dubbed ‘The Vanishing Triangle’. If you have information...

Steven Cooper’s car was found abandoned at Loch Laggan in the Highlands after he drove hundreds of miles from his home near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, on January 21st, 2008 - his 47th birthday. Extensive searches were carried out over a 50 square-mile area, using RAF helicopters, search dogs and mountain rescue teams but no trace of him has ever been found. His sister Trish Cooper tells The Missing about her brother’s “bizarre” disappearance, and her hope that he could be living a new...