Hi, and welcome back to The Unseen Podcast, a podcast dedicated to missing
people, unresolved cases and UK true crime. Today's our last episode of twelve
days of missing person cases throughout December. I hope that you have enjoyed listening
to these episodes. I've had amazing feedback as always on them, and the
engagement has been great. I'm so proud of the fact that we're able to
highlight these cases on the podcast and hopefully do some good. Today we're going
to be discussing the disappearance of twenty three year old Stephen Preston in nineteen ninety
two on the Wirral. He left home and hasn't been seen since. This
episode is about a missing person and so does not contain any graphic descriptions.
However, listener discretion is always advised. Bebington is a town on the world
located around five miles south of the city of Liverpool. It's known for its
convenient location close to Liverpool and easy transport links. Stephen Preston lived in Bebington
his whole life, throughout the nineteen seventies and eighties. He attended Brackenwood Infants
and Junior School in the Town and then went on to attend Newchester Road Secondary
School. Stephen was close with his family, particularly his mum Isabelle, his
sister Jane, and half brother Michael. Jane later describe Stephen saying he was
a gentle, kind and funny lad. He didn't have a nasty bone in
him. He was my friend. Stephen was well liked and loved his family
life. With his friends and family, he went by the nickname Gandy.
He lived with his family on Heath Road and most of Stephen's life around Bebington.
He was a well loved member of their family and his friends. On
the morning of the eighteenth of September nineteen ninety two, Stephen was at home
when his mum isabel left for work at around eight forty five am. It
reported that Stephen waved goodbye to his mum from his bedroom window and she set
off. There was nothing at all out of the ordinary about this morning,
and Isabelle thought nothing of it. It was only when Stephen was not in
the house later that night, and when he didn't return, that his family
began to get worried about his whereabouts. He was all the more worrying as
it appeared that he had left without taking his jacket with him or a prescription
for medication that he was on, meaning he had left the house with almost
nothing with him. If he was heading out for any length of time,
then why did he not take anything with him? Where had he gone?
And why did he not let anyone know? This was the concern for the
family, and five days after he had last been seen, he was officially
reported missing on the twenty third of September. Stephen's disappearance was strange, given
that this was not something he usually did, and when police began investigating,
they learned that there had been no arguments or issues on the morning that he'd
last been seen. The investigation found no reason why Stephen would have wanted to
have gone missing. His family were distressed by his disappearance, and they later
said that he adored his family, and particularly his mum, so he would
not have wanted to put them through so much stress and worry. His family
speculated from early on that something might have happened to Stephen given the circumstances in
which he disappeared with no jacket and no medication. This was not something he
would usually do, and so the idea that something had happened to him,
or that foul play was involved was something that certainly crossed their minds. Inquiries
at the time did not indicate what had happened to Stephen, and despite an
investigation into his disappearance by Merseyside Police, he was never located and they couldn't
find any evidence as to where he went. In the years following, there
was no verified sightings of Stephen and there was no activity to suggest that he'd
set up a new life somewhere else. For instance, there were no benefit
withdrawals or accounts set up in his name. There certainly was worrying. However,
with little evidence and progress being made, Stephen's disappearance grew cold and it
was passed on to the Missing Persons Bureau. His case has been periodically reviewed
by Merseyside Police and there have been appeals made to the public for help.
This was made all the more sad due to the fact that his mum,
Isabel, and his half brother Michael died during the intervening years that he had
been missing. They died with no answer as to where Stephen was. In
twenty seventeen, new life was breathed into the case when it was reported that
someone left a tip that Stephen's remains may be found in an area called Easton,
less than four miles from Bebbington. The tip specifically said that his body
could be found in a network of fields close to junction five of the M
fifty three motorway. This tip suggested that Stephen had been murdered shortly after his
disappearance and then buried there. The police treated this tip its credible given how
long Stephen had been missing. The police cordoned off areas of different pieces of
land, which were all empty in twenty seventeen, but in nineteen ninety two
there was a paddock and a stable on one of them, cleared overgrown pieces
of land and dug around ninety thousand holes to try and enable a sniffer dog
to get a scent. Despite digging in these areas and significant manpower going into
these searches, nothing was found and the search was eventually sadly called off.
Please continue to appeal, as did Stephen's family, in the hope that someone
else may come forward with information that could help them. In twenty twenty one,
another appeal was made to try and locate Stephen and gain new information.
His sister Jane said, he adored my mum and it destroyed her when he
disappeared. She knew instantly that he wouldn't have just left and never contacted her
again, and that something must have happened to him. After all this time
has passed. If anyone knows anything or heard anything at the time, no
matter how insignificant, if they could just come forward, it could help us
find some answers. Sective Inspector Steve McGrath from Merseyside Police stated, we know
that Stephen was last seen by his mum, Isabelle, on the eighteenth of
September nineteen ninety two. Sadly, his mum and his half brother Michael have
since passed away without knowing what happened to Stephen, but we know there are
still family and friends who want answers to what happened. Extensive inquiries and appeals
have been carried out over the years, and in twenty seventeen an extensive search
was carried out on land near the M fifty three following information received by Merseyside
Police. I would appeal to anyone who has any information about Stephen's disappearance to
contact us. It doesn't matter that twenty nine years have passed. Any information
they have could be vital and provide some comfort to his family. A young
man in his twenties doesn't just leave home and vanish into thin air. Somebody
somewhere must know where he is or what happened to him, and I would
urge them to contact us as soon as possible. Stephen Preston has still not
been located and little has been found to point to what happened to him.
His family one answers and they deserve them, so if you do know anything
about his disappearance, please contact police on one oh one. Thank you for
listening to episode twelve of our Twelve Days of Missing Person episodes throughout December.
We'll be back in the middle of January as I'm going to take some time
off for Christmas and to be with my family. I wish you all an
amazing Christmas and New Year if you celebrate it, and thank you so much
for all of your support. It means the world. If you'd like to
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I'm Caprice and this has been unseen se