“I had almost given up hope of ever seeing my brother again. It had been 19 long years of him missing from our family. The emotional stress was tremendous. Not knowing whether he was dead or alive was indescribable.

Richard and I grew up as part of a large family; one of five children with only six years between us all. Richard is a twin and yet he and I had always had a special bond. But he had a lot of poor health and spent periods of time in hospital.

There were family disagreements as normal and periods where we didn’t see as much of him, but he would always ring us, and things would go back to normal. Until one day it didn’t.

It was in 2000 when I last spoke to Richard. There was a minor difference of opinion and he just disappeared.

Time went by and when dad passed away it was devastating for us all, particularly for mum, she just wanted her family together again.

One day I came across Missing People’s Lost Contact Service. I didn’t hold out much hope, but I had nothing left to lose. We sat down as a family and, although excited, we all felt it was unlikely he was still alive due to his health issues. A hope of closure was all we really had as we filled in the application.

We knew it wasn’t going to be a quick process, but it was just a relief to be doing something. And then in early July, seven months since I had first approached the Lost Contact service, I received the email telling me they had found Richard. He was alive and well.

Not long after that I received an email from Richard himself. I felt like I had won the lottery. I emailed him back and asked him to call me. Less than half an hour later I heard my brother’s voice for the first time in nearly two decades. Since that day my family has spoken to Richard almost every day; we have a lot to catch up on! Our mum is 81 now and describes this as her dream come true. We have our happy ending after 19 years apart thanks to Missing People. We have vowed to never lose touch again.”