Daughter of missing Barnsley man makes emotional appeal on his birthday
Richard Dyson hasn't been seen for 13 months
Last updated 24th Dec 2020
The daughter of a missing Barnsley man tells us she's facing a second painful Christmas without him as she makes an emotional appeal for information.
Richard Dyson was last seen thirteen months ago in Hoyland and police say they're extremely worried for his safety.
To mark his birthday today his daughter's appealed directly to the people of South Yorkshire for help to find out what happened to him.
Bethany Dainty, 20, says the last year's been the toughest of her life:
"I miss him so much and we have so many great memories together. The hardest thing is not knowing. I just need answers.
"I know many people this Christmas won't be with their loved ones as much as they'd like to be but you know for sure one day you'll see them again."
Richard was last seen at around 11pm on Sunday 17th November walking along the A6132 Sheffield Road in Hoyland.
Bethany reported him missing just over a week later when he didn't turn up for a meeting they'd arranged.
She's urging anyone who has any information to come forward:
"I'm stuck in this horrible situation of not knowing. I've come here today on my dad's birthday to appeal to you - the community of South Yorkshire - to help me. Someone must know what's happened to my dad. Please just come forward and tell me what you know.
"I just ask that when you start your Christmas celebrations you just think of me and my dad and how coming forward could make a massive difference to our lives."
Richard is about 5ft 10ins - 6ft tall, of a slim build and with short, grey hair.
He spent time in Elsecar and Hoyland and police say they think somebody in that area knows something which could help them.
DI Neil Coop's leading the investigation:
"With all the social media and technology of today it is unusual for somebody to disappear like that without leaving any kind of footprint. That lead us to be extremely concerned for his welfare.
"His associations are all in that local area. If he spoke to anybody before he went missing to say he was concerned about anything or anything that may have triggered his disappearance I'm convinced that there's somebody or some people in that local community that know."
If you know where Richard is or have any information, you can call South Yorkshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 459 of 25 November 2019.
Or you can stay anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers via their website Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling their UK Contact Centre on 0800 555 111.