Richard, a 19-year-old teenager from Ladbroke Grove, Kensington, has been reported missing after being last seen near Epping Forest. He disappeared after leaving his family home on the night of Monday, 22 March.
CCTV footage shows Richard travelling across west London by bus before getting into a taxi heading towards Loughton, Essex. The last confirmed sighting of him was in the early hours of Tuesday, 23 March, wandering alone near Nursery Road and Epping Forest at 12:39am.
Following this, officers from the Metropolitan Police and Essex Police launched a major search operation in Epping Forest. The extensive search efforts continued for two days but ended without success yesterday evening. Police plan to resume the search today, focusing on any new leads to locate Richard.
Detective Superintendent Danny Gosling, head of the Met’s Central West Public Protection Unit, made a public appeal: “People can go missing for all sorts of reasons. Our job isn’t to judge but to find them and bring them home safely.”
He added, “Richard, if you hear this message, please get in touch with us or someone you trust. You are not in trouble and have done nothing wrong. Your family and countless others are deeply worried.”
Detective Superintendent Gosling also thanked the public for their assistance, saying, “Thanks to the public for sharing our appeals, checking doorbell and dashcam footage, and providing tips. The community’s watchful eyes are crucial in this search.”
Key details known so far include Richard leaving his home around 8:30pm on 22 March, travelling through Ladbroke Grove, W10. CCTV captured him boarding the No. 23 bus at 8:44pm, wearing black clothes and carrying a black satchel bag with a white Adidas logo. He later took a taxi from west London to Smarts Lane, Loughton, Essex.
Since the last footage near Epping Forest, there have been no confirmed sightings of Richard.
If you have seen Richard, police urge you to call 999 immediately. For any other information, please contact 101 quoting incident number 21MIS008134 to help bring him home safely.
Originally published by UKNIP.
