Article Index
A Light in the Dark
"My son Lee - my kind, considerate, football-mad boy - has been missing for 29 years.
"When I think of Lee, I like to remember the quiet moments we had together when he was little, like at bedtime when he'd listen intently while I read him Noddy books. He was a kind, thoughtful boy. There's a green opposite our house where children play, and if Lee saw a smaller kid get hurt, he'd be the first to run to their assistance.
"Lee's first love was football. He was a great supporter of our local team, Sutton United FC. He'd go to all the games if they weren't too far away - always with a friend. He knew his mother Christine was a worrier, so he'd always make the effort to call us to say he was about to get on the coach to come home.
"The last time I saw Lee was on a Saturday in September 1988, he was heading to the football. But he never made it to the match, and he never came home. After intensive police investigations, we still don't know what happened to him.
"My family have lived with unrelenting pain for nearly three decades. There are intense highs when there is new information and crashing lows when that information comes to nothing. But when we are at our lowest, and when things seem darkest, we know Missing People will be there to catch us.
"Missing People have never given up on Lee, or me, or my family. Often people can't find the right words to talk to us about our loss, so knowing that Missing People understands the pain and complexity of what we're going through has been a lifeline. Knowing the charity is there any time, day or night, to provide advice and support - or just to listen - is a comfort I can't describe. I know every devastated family in touch with the charity feels the same."
- Peter Boxell, father of missing Lee Boxell.