Police have renewed an appeal to locate a missing man from Devon who has not been seen for over a year. There is still a mystery surrounding the disappearance of Richard Locker and police are asking for any new information about his whereabouts with his loved ones desperate for answers.
Richard was last seen in his home in Paignton on Thursday, January 4, 2024 around 2pm. He left his home in his vehicle, which was later recovered in Mill Lane, Torquay, the following day, Friday, January 5, 2024.
He is described as a white male, pale in complexion and roughly 5ft 8ins tall. Richard is of slim build with short, grey receding hair and is known to walk with his hands in his pockets.
Richard may have been wearing a navy fleece, chequered red and black shirt and navy or khaki Mountain Warehouse trousers and may have a light beige jacket with him. Given the amount of time that has passed, it is highly likely that he is wearing different clothes.
Richard has a tattoo on his right shoulder reading ‘Easy Tiger’, police have said. He has links across the Torbay area, South Hams and the Stoke area of Staffordshire.
Mystery as missing man not seen for over a year
(Image: Devon and Cornwall Police)
The family of Richard Locker have vowed they will continue to search for him until they have answers on his disappearance. Speaking to DevonLive, his step-daughter Nicola and her mum Sharon said they believe the answers are there but need uncovering.
Nicola said: “The day Rich went missing, myself, family and friends we all met here and we spread out, day and night, we were knocking on doors locally, anywhere that had a camera and Ring doorbells, hotels, anything, asking if there was any footage but no one had anything.
“His vehicle was parked here and he’s obviously come back down the road but after this point there is absolutely nothing. He’d never ever leave the vehicle unlocked.”
Nicola said they aren’t going to “give up” in their search for him and “need closure”, saying: “We just need to find out what’s happened to him. We can’t concentrate and do anything else until we know where Richard is and what’s happened to him.”
Detective Chief Inspector Dave Pebworth said: “It is now a year since Richard was reported missing so we are refreshing our appeal to members of the public to report any information they may have.
“Officers, along with HM Coastguard, carried out extensive searches and enquiries after he was reported missing. This included area searches by specially trained search teams and police drones, CCTV enquiries and media appeals, as well as financial and phone enquiries.
“Enquiries and reviews of information have also been ongoing since that time, and we have continued to follow up all potential sightings. During this time, we have remained in contact with his family. Any information reported to police will be investigated and if anyone has anything relevant to this case, please get in touch.”
If you have seen Richard, or know of his whereabouts, please call police immediately on 101, quoting log number 309 of 5/1/24.