Family Plea Over Soldier Missing For 14 Years

The family of a former soldier missing for more than a decade have issued a last-ditch plea to find him - before a court officially declares him dead.

Paul Tidcombe, who would now be 42, was last seen in 2003 at a party in Bristol but his body has never been found.

On Wednesday a High Court judge is set to officially declare him deceased - but his family are clinging on to hope for a last-minute breakthrough.

His sister Lindsey Whitrow, 32, has posted a desperate plea on Facebook to try and find out what happened to him before the hearing.

She said: "We are not silly. We know that the police had two investigators working on the case that did as much as they could.

"We think it's highly unlikely that he is still alive, but we just don't know."

"If we could piece together what happened to him it would give us a little bit of closure.

"I know he could still be out there somewhere."

"I picture him on a beach somewhere with a whole new life - that he just woke up one morning and said 'I don't want to live like this anymore' and went and started out again."

Social media plea

Paul, whose last known address was in Plymouth, Devon, joined the Army when he was 16 but was medically discharged following an operation about three years later.

His sister said his life soon spiralled out of control after leaving the military and he turned to drugs.

Lindsey, who last heard from her brother when she was 18, posted a plea on social media urging anyone with information to come forward.

She said: "In one last ditch attempt after 10 years of looking, please can you share this in the extremely unlikely event that we might find him safe and well. I would owe you everything if your sharing made our dreams come true and he could meet his niece and nephew.

"If he is still alive I just want him to know that we don't need to know why.

"We don't need to know why you left or if you don't want to come back but I just want a letter or a message saying you're okay."

In just a few hours, her post was shared more than 220 times.

She added: "If only Facebook was around when he went missing. The response has been amazing. I've had messages from people I don't even know."

Following Paul's disappearance his father David Tidcombe, who lives in Bristol, said the family craved peace of mind.

Appealing for information a year after his son vanished, he said: "We have been to the Missing Persons Bureau, checked all the prisons and hospitals. We did what we could.

"After all this period of time it does make you wonder if he has upset the wrong person or decided to end it himself.

"We want peace of mind, even if he does not want any more to do with us or if he is not about anymore.

"If we know he has sorted himself out and does not want to get back in touch that would be OK, it would just put his mum's mind at rest. It is the not knowing anything."

Anyone with information about his whereabouts or what happened to him is urged to contact Devon and Cornwall Police on 101.

Pictures courtesy of SWNS.