Richard Scatchard: Crimestoppers offers £10,000 reward for Minehead sex offender
The 70-year-old hasn't been seen since October - the day after a woman was found dead at his home
Last updated 7th Dec 2023
Crimestoppers are offering up to £10,000 for exclusive information that leads to the arrest of a convicted sex offender from Minehead wanted for questioning over a murder.
Police are actively trying to track down Richard Scatchard after he went missing following the death of a woman at his home back in October.
The 70-year-old, originally from Scotland, is considered a risk to the public and has now been added to the Crimestoppers 'Most Wanted' list.
He has links to Cornwall and South Wales.
The public are advised not to approach him, but to contact the charity Crimestoppers anonymously if they know where he is hiding.
Karen MacDonald, Regional Manager for the West Country at the charity Crimestoppers, said: “This man is dangerous and needs to be found urgently. If you know where he is, but prefer not to talk to the police, you can contact our charity and tell us anonymously what you know.
“As a charity that’s independent of the police, Crimestoppers has always kept its promise of anonymity since we began in the 1980s. Millions of people have trusted us over the decades with their crime information.
“Please call our UK Contact Centre on freephone 0800 555 111, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or fill in our website’s secure anonymous online form. No one will ever know you contacted us. We cannot trace your call or track your IP address and we never ask for or record any personal details. By sharing what you know, you’ll be helping to keep communities safe and avoiding any police or court contact. No one will ever know that you got in touch with our charity.”
Information passed directly to police will not qualify for the £10,000 reward.
The reward will only be payable for information passed directly to Crimestoppers and not to the police. A reward code must be asked for when calling the charity on 0800 555 111. If you contact Crimestoppers via the anonymous online form, the 'keeping in contact’ facility must be used and a reward code must be requested on your initial contact with the charity.
More information about rewards can be found on the Crimestoppers’ website. This reward is available until 6 March 2024 as rewards offered for specific cases expire after three months.