Meet Lee Boxell, Missing Since 1988

The emotional toll of a missing person is immeasurable, and a constant reminder of the importance of never giving up hope for answers, no matter how long it might take.

The parents of Lee Boxell have waited for over 35 years for news of their son. The 15-year-old boy vanished on Saturday, 10th September 1988, in Cheam, Surrey. The young lad is described by his family as kind, gentle and a football fanatic. A missing child whose bedroom remains untouched in a home that has seen no alterations. A house lost in time; preserved by the memory of Lee.

‘I miss my son every single day. You never get used to it. The questions don’t ever go away.’
Peter Boxell, Lee’s dad

Quiet and unassuming with a bright future ahead of him, Lee was a son who made his parents extremely proud. The firstborn to Peter and Christine, he was a dream come true for them when he arrived in the world in February 1973. Shy and a little reserved, Lee grew up to be quietly confident, sporty, and with a love of music and singing; a passion Lee and his father shared and the inspiration behind the song Peter wrote for the Missing People choir: I Miss You.

To this day, Lee’s bedroom walls are still lined with posters of the popstars of the time, Kylie, Wham! and one of his favourites, Carol Decker. Shaking Stevens was chart-topping at the time with ‘Feel the Need in Me’, a particular favourite of Lee’s.

‘I’m singing for all the lost years and everything we never got to do together. I hope that one day we get some answers. I miss Lee so much…’
Peter Boxell, Lee’s dad

Living in a local community where everyone looked out for each other, Lee was a responsible teenager who chose friends wisely. A private boy who was trusting and extremely considerate of others. He was a brilliant and bright 15-year-old who would never have chosen to vanish that day.

Peter and Lindsey live each day in limbo with an agonising fear that they may never know what happened to their beautiful son.

‘Lee would now be 52 years old and all he was carrying the last time his family saw him was £10 in his pocket’.
Peter Boxell, Lee’s dad

They miss their boy as much today as they did that unseasonably sunny day in September all those years ago, and they will never give up hope that one day he will return to them.

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