In 1996, Val Nettles’s son Damien went missing on the Isle of Wight at aged 16. Missing People have been supporting Val and her family since Damien’s disappearance. Val has written a book giving an account of her experience of having a missing loved one.
I opened my mouth and it came. It wasn’t a cry, or even a sob. It came from deep in my soul…. It was the sound of a mother helpless to save her child from danger. I asked the same unanswered questions over and again. Where was he? Where was my Damien?
On 2 November 1996, 16-year-old Damien Nettles went out for the evening in his hometown of Cowes on the Isle of Wight. CCTV recorded him in a chip shop at 23:40 and on the High Street just after midnight. He has never been seen since.
Damien’s mother, Valerie, has spent over two decades desperately trying to find out what happened to her son. Arrests have been made, and suspects released without charge. Despite years of research by journalists and a private investigator, Damien’s vanishing remains a mystery.
In this hugely moving and compelling account, Valerie Nettles tells the full, perplexing story of her son’s disappearance.
Someone must know what happened to Damien. Will the truth ever emerge from the shadows?
Missing People supports Valerie and her family in the search for Damien. The book is available to purchase online, and in bookstores and libraries across the UK.
Please note, Missing People does not have any financial connections to the book.
Damien went missing on 2nd November 1996 from Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Aged just 16 at the time, Damien has now been missing for almost 27 years. His appeal, with links to share posters on social media, will remain on our site until he is found.
We have launched a regular email so that you can be aware of new missing person appeals and share them far and wide! We are also calling on all Heroes to be the eyes and ears for Missing People on the ground. Your sighting of a missing person could make a difference in a crucial time.
