Mother of missing man pleads for him to return (From Watford Observer)

Mother of missing man pleads for him to return

3:10pm Tuesday 29th March 2011 in News By Adam Binnie

The mother of a missing South Oxhey man has pleaded for him to come home.

Shaun Packer, 44, has been missing since he walked out of his Ilkley Road home at 8am last Tuesday.

Shirley Packer, his mother, said: “He was a very private person, interested in history and formula one racing.

“He has been very depressed for the last three to four weeks, just generally very low.

“He usually tells us when he's gone off, but he was there one minute and gone the next.

"He used to go metal detecting and he'd go camping while he was doing it, but he's left his detector here so I know he's not doing that.

"He doesn't drive, he didn't take any food and has no access to a bank account, he only took his tent with him.

“He knows the woods around here from walking the dog but they've already looked there and at his friends' houses.

“If he's reading this I'd like to tell him to please come home, I'm just sitting by the phone waiting to hear from him or the police.”

A friend, who asked not to be named, said Mr Packer had been very depressed after his dog was confiscated by the RSCPA earlier this year.

He told his mother Shirley, who he lives with in Ilkley Road, that he “needed to get away for a few days” after the dog was taken in January.

Police are searching woodland across Watford after Mr Packer went missing. He was last seen wearing a three-quarter length, beige anorak and dark trousers.

It is believed he took camping equipment and a large holdall when he left the home he shares with his mother at 8am.

Seven teams of volunteers from Midshires Search and Rescue and other teams from Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Buckinghamshire were searching Whippendell Woods this morning.

Kathy Murphy, a friend of Mr Packer's mother, said: “She's a lovely lady, she doesn't deserve what she's going through.

“It's her son – you never stop worrying about your children no matter how old they are.”

Police are becoming increasingly concerned for Mr Packer's welfare as he left his phone at home and has no access to a bank account.

DI Clare Smith, leading the investigation, said: "Shaun's mother is very upset and worried. She's not sleeping and is literally waiting by the phone.

"I want to let Shaun know that he can contact us at any time and that he shouldn't feel overwhelmed by the efforts to find him."

Anyone with information should telephone police on 0845 3300222, or Shaun can call the Missing People phone line, on 0500 700 700.

Do you know Shaun? Telephone the news desk on 01923 216295.