"I just need some answers": daughter's plea for help to find missing Barnsley dad
Bethany Dainty's dad went missing exactly a year ago - and she is calling on the community to help find him
Last updated 17th Nov 2020
A Barnsley woman has made a desperate appeal to find her dad, a year on from when he was last seen.
20 year old Bethany Dainty says the last 12 months have been the toughest of her life, following his disappearance.
56 year old Richard Dyson was last seen on Sunday 17 November, at around 11pm, in Hoyland. He was walking along Sheffield Road, close to Parkside Farm.
Bethany is now calling on the community to come forward with any information they might have about her dad's whereabouts.
Bethany said: “The last 12 months have been the toughest of my life. Waking up every day not knowing what has happened to Dad is like a bad dream that I can’t get away from. All I want to know is what happened. I am certain somebody, or maybe even more than one person, knows something that will help. I ask you directly, and from the bottom of my heart, please, please get in touch and tell somebody what you know. I don’t deserve to live like this, I just need some answers.
“If you don’t want to speak to the police directly you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously or go online and report it that way, the police don’t need to know who you are.”
Detective Inspector Neil Coop, the officer in charge of the investigation, said: “Over the last year my team has trawled CCTV footage, conducted house-to-house enquiries, forensically examined Richard’s cars and carried out extensive telecoms work. This is still very much an active investigation and we are all focused on getting Bethany the answers she deserves.
“Bethany and Richard had a very close relationship and saw each other most Sundays. Over the last year this young woman has had to mark Richard’s birthday, Father’s Day, Christmas, her own birthday and countless other important dates without her dad. I don’t want another Christmas to pass with her not knowing what has happened.”
DI Coop’s team is particularly keen to understand Richard’s movements in the days leading up to when he was last seen, and those immediately afterwards.
He added: "Richard was known to spend time in the Elsecar and Hoyland areas of Barnsley. Please look at the photos of Richard and cast your mind back to this time last year. Did you see Richard? Did you have information that may help our investigation? It doesn’t matter how minor you think your contribution may be, we really do want to hear from you. What you know could be the key that unlocks this investigation and ultimately helps Bethany.”
Richard is about 5ft 10ins – 6ft tall, of a slim build and with short, grey hair. If you know where he is or have any information, you can call us on 101 quoting incident number 459 of 25 November 2019.
Alternatively, you can stay completely anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers via their website Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling their UK Contact Centre on 0800 555 111.