Hi, and welcome back to The Unseen Podcast, a podcast dedicated to missing
people, unresolved cases, and UK true crime. This is episode seven of
twelve missing person cases throughout December, and today we're going to be covering the
disappearance of seventeen year old Jeffrey Allen in nineteen eighty two on the Isle of
Wight. This episode is about a missing person and so does not contain any
descriptions of violence. However, listener discretion is always advised. The Isle of
Wight is an island and county off the coast of Hampshire. Many people travel
across from the island to the mainland by ferry, and tourism is a big
part of the economy, with many people visiting the island every year. Equally,
many residents of the island visit the mainland and there is quite an easy
and accessible route for this travel. In nineteen eighty two, seventeen year old
Jeffrey Allen lived on Yaveland Close on the Isle of WAYI Yaveland Close is located
in the area of Sandown, which is described as a seaside town with a
pier and sandy beaches. Sandown also has many amenities such as cafes and restaurants,
along with museums and gardens. Yavland Close is a series of neat bungalows
located to many of these town center amenities. Jeffrey Allen lived in the Close
with his family and attended Sandown High School. Jeffrey's mum is named Anne,
although in some reporting she is listed as being named Rosemary. More recent reporting
has named her as Anne, so I will do the same. She would
later tell the BBC about Jeffrey, saying he was a bit of a rascal
and into mischief, almost out of my control. Really, he was a
loving, loving son, but probably stubborn. Like his mother. Jeffrey seemed
to be an average teenager who sometimes pushed the boundaries, but was relatively close
to his family. On the twenty eighth of August nineteen eighty two, while
his mum was working away for business, Jeffrey's sister would later say that Jeffrey
told her before leaving the house that day that he was planning ongoing camping with
two friends on the mainland. Jeffrey then left the home. It was later
on that Jeffrey's family would realize that he had not returned. It reported that
Jeffrey had left home previously for several weeks at a time, and so while
this was worrying for his family, there was perhaps not the immediate concern that
there would have been if this had been the first time that he had disappear.
It did, however, start to become a worry when he had still
not returned and had not made contact with his family or friends. His mum
would later say that the pair had had an argument before he disappeared. She
stated that they had a phone call and that she told him some home truths
and that some harsh things were said. Anne later said about what happened so
many times, I think it was my fault. Should I have dealt with
things differently. When it became clear that Jeffrey hadn't returned, his family contacted
police and an appeal was made for information about his whereabouts. This appeal was
made in around November nineteen eighty two, and they appealed for anyone with information
to come forward. They also explained that like Jeffrey's family, they were concerned
about his welfare, given that at this point he had been missing for around
three months. It is reported in the County Press newspaper that The missing person
appeal does state that Jeffrey went missing in May nineteen eighty two. However,
the police appeal states that this happened in August nineteen eighty two. It seems
as though his disappearance did occur in August, as articles such as that from
the BBC also report this. It was stated that he had left home before,
However, it's unclear if this was the reason why he had not been
reported missing earlier. Police made inquiries into Jeffrey's disappearance and tried to locate him.
There did not seem to be any indication where Jeffrey had gone, with
only the information that he had gone camping to go on. Police issued a
description of Jeffrey in case he was seen in an article from the time in
nineteen eighty two. He was described as five feet eight inches tall, of
medium build, with blonde or brownish color collar and hair, and a freckled
complexion. He is described as having a distinctive tattoo of a swallow along with
the name Lee on his upper left arm. He also had a one inch
scar on his chin. Police explained that despite making extensive inquiries into Jeffrey's whereabouts,
they were unable to locate him. While Jeffrey had just vanished, it
was unclear what exactly had happened, and more recently, police would state that
no evidence exists to suggest he was the victim of a crime. His family,
however, were desperate to know what happened to him, and in the
years that have followed they have not given up trying to find out where he
is. Since his disappearance, there have been several theories put forward for what
could have happened to him. One of these possibilities was that Jeffrey had perhaps
moved to Cyprus or to London, as this had reportedly been something that he
had spoken about. Another more disturbing theory was that Jeffrey had perhaps been killed
in a fire at a place called black Pan Farm in Nearby Lake, a
village in Sandown Bay. Police did look into this as a serious tip,
and they examined all the debris that was found there. They found no evidence
to suggest that Jeffrey had been there or any harm had come to him.
These theories must have been horrific to have to hear about and agonizing for his
family. The years passed in Jeffrey's disappearance without evidence emerging, and in two
thousand and five, Jeffrey's family once again appealed for information. The next year,
the Missing Person's Helpline published an age progression photograph of what Jeffrey would have
looked like at the time. This photograph was shown at the Isle of Wight
Festival in the hope that it would drum new information. In twenty twelve,
Jeffrey's mum, Anne spoke to the BBC on the thirtieth anniversary of his disappearance.
She discussed how difficult not knowing where her son was for all these years,
and echoed many of the sentiments of other loved ones of the missing.
She stated, it's heart wrenching whenever you go out in the car you think
you see him. I just hope he's happy somewhere as a family, and
sometime will think of me. After thirty years. Maybe he had suffered violence
and he's dead, but you don't want to accept that because then you have
nowhere else to go. I still want closure. If he's dead, then
at least I can grieve, and explained that she has tried to stay positive
for the rest of her family, her son and daughter, grandchildren and great
grandchildren, and she said, going through this has affected her. She said,
you can't keep on and on, you just hurt yourself more. I
don't know where I can go from here, just hoping someone somewhere can tell
me they've seen him. Since Anne has never given up trying to appeal for
information for her son, and the newest age progression photograph shows what Jeffrey would
look like at the age of fifty. It has now been over forty years
since Jeffrey went missing and it's so crucial that people know about his disappearance and
anyone that can help comes forward, a spokesperson for Hampshire Police stated to the
BBC in twenty twelve. Several reviews of the case have been carried out by
detectives. More recently, routine proof of life checks were made on police and
other official databases, along with the storage of DNA samples for comparison. No
evidence exists to suggest mister Allen was the victim of a crime, although there
is no new information to investigate at this time. Police welcome the ongoing efforts
of family, friends, charities, the community and the media in maintaining awareness
of the case to encourage any fresh information which may lead to the location of
Jeffrey Allen. There is not a lot of information available in Jeffrey's case.
However, it's clear that his family are desperate to find him, and that
his mum has continued to try and keep his case in the public eye.
Jeffrey's family deserve answers and they just want to know what happened to him.
If you know anything about Jeffrey Allen's disappearance on the Isle of Wight in nineteen
eighty two, please contact police on one oh one or contact the charity Missing
People. Jeffrey's missing person profile will be linked in the show notes. Thank
you for listening to episode seven of our twelve Days of Missing Person episodes throughout
December, listening in two days to episode eight. If you'd like to support
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I'm Caprice and this has been unseen. She had sh