Norfolk Police to review handling of missing man searches
The force says its always worth seeing if lessons can be learnt for future
Last updated 12th Jan 2022
Norfolk Police has said it's going to liaise with its colleagues in London to see whether any lessons can be learnt from searches for a missing man from Downham Market.
Extensive searches were carried out in the county after John Boyd was reported missing last week.
He was found safe and well in London days later - but it seems there was some delay in relaying the fact he'd been found back to officers still looking for him near his home.
The force has now confirmed it'll work with the Met to see if anything could be done better should the situation arise again in future.
Chief Superintendent David Buckley, Norfolk’s County Policing Commander, told us: “I want to start by saying how pleased we are that John has now been reunited safely with his family at, what must have been, a hugely distressing time for them all.
“I can also confirm that we carried out extensive searches last week as well as local enquiries with partners which involved reviewing all available CCTV and checking with local hospitals. This encompassed the CCTV provision, controlled by British Transport Police at Downham Market train station, and John wasn’t seen on any CCTV at the station or boarding any trains.
“However, our ongoing work and subsequent television appeal, revealed that John had, in fact, travelled to King's Cross train station, where he was found by officers from the local force and taken to hospital where he remained safe, being cared for by hospital staff. Due to John’s vulnerabilities, no-one in London, a city of nearly nine million people, knew who he was until seeing the television appeal by Chief Inspector Rob Button. This resulted in Norfolk Police being contacted and our enquiries moved to London where we were able to confirm it was John.
“While anyone reported missing can travel , if determined, great distances, policing experience tells us that the vast majority of people remain local and our searches will always be informed by proximity of where the person went missing, lifestyle consideration such as habits and evidence such as sightings. We work with the information we have at that time and even though he was circulated as missing on national police systems, all of the evidence and circumstances suggested John would be in the Downham Market area.
“Clearly, the most important thing is that John is safe and well. As a matter of course, we will be speaking with partner agencies in London to see if there are any lessons to learn to make sure there were no missed opportunities which could have led to John being identified as found sooner.
“I wish to take this further opportunity to thank local communities again for the support we received from volunteers and the public in general as we searched for John.”