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<v Speaker 1>Hi, and welcome back to The Unseen Podcast, a podcast

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<v Speaker 1>dedicated to missing people, unresolved cases, and UK true crime.

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<v Speaker 1>Today is day two of twelve days of missing person

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<v Speaker 1>cases throughout December. In this episode, we're exploring the disappearance

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<v Speaker 1>of twenty two year old Lee Buckle. In nineteen ninety four,

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<v Speaker 1>Lee disappeared in India and since then he has had

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<v Speaker 1>no information about what happened to him, despite huge amounts

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<v Speaker 1>of effort from his family. This episode is about a

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<v Speaker 1>missing person and so does not contain any graphic descriptions,

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<v Speaker 1>but listener discretion is always advised. On October nineteenth, nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>ninety four, John and June Buckle arrived at the airport

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<v Speaker 1>to pick up their twenty two year old son Lee.

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<v Speaker 1>Lee had left for a three month backpacking trip to

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<v Speaker 1>the Kashmere region of India in June that year. Lee

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<v Speaker 1>was very passionate about trekking and hiking, and it was

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<v Speaker 1>something that he had done lots of before. He had

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<v Speaker 1>previously treked in the Atlas Mountains in Africa and was

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<v Speaker 1>therefore well equipped for this backpacking trip to the Himalayas.

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<v Speaker 1>After completing his geology degree at the University of Southampton.

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<v Speaker 1>He was interested in traveling and seeing the world. Lee

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<v Speaker 1>had grown up with his mother June and father John,

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<v Speaker 1>along with his younger brothers Damon and James, in Saint Helen's.

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<v Speaker 1>He had attended Newton High School in Newton Loa, Willows

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<v Speaker 1>before heading off to study further. His love of the

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<v Speaker 1>outdoors and trekking was clear, and it was something that

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<v Speaker 1>he shared with some of his friends. In nineteen ninety four,

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<v Speaker 1>his plan was to trek in the Himalayas and then

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<v Speaker 1>head to Nepal to meet up with friends. His parents

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<v Speaker 1>were confident that Lee knew what he was doing, as

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<v Speaker 1>he had been traveling and trekking before. They later explained

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<v Speaker 1>that while he'd packed light for this trip to India,

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<v Speaker 1>he had taken essentials to keep him safe, like a

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<v Speaker 1>full first aid kit. This made them feel a little

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<v Speaker 1>better about this trip. Lee had set off at the

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<v Speaker 1>end of June nineteen ninety four, and his parents had

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<v Speaker 1>received a letter from him in early July. He had

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<v Speaker 1>told his parents that he couldn't be in touch for

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<v Speaker 1>a while as he was going to start his trek

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<v Speaker 1>and so wouldn't be somewhere that he could be reached.

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<v Speaker 1>Following this letter, His parents hadn't thought much more of it,

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<v Speaker 1>given that they knew that he would not be around

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<v Speaker 1>to send or receive post. They didn't hear from him

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<v Speaker 1>again that summer. However, this did not seem to alarm

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<v Speaker 1>them given the nature of Lee's trip. They did know

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<v Speaker 1>that he would be returning in October for his cousin's wedding,

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<v Speaker 1>and so on October nineteenth, his parents went to the

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<v Speaker 1>airport to pick him up. Lee did not arrive as planned.

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<v Speaker 1>This was the first that his parents knew that there

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<v Speaker 1>was something wrong. They knew that Lee would not just

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<v Speaker 1>have disappeared without telling them or letting them know if

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<v Speaker 1>he'd changed his plans. His mom, June, later said, he

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<v Speaker 1>would have known that we would be worrying about him

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<v Speaker 1>if he didn't return. He would make sure to tell

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<v Speaker 1>us if he'd decided to stay on something is wrong

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<v Speaker 1>and for some reason he can't tell us. The fact

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<v Speaker 1>that Lee just did not return from India was immediately worrying.

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<v Speaker 1>The last contact that they had with him was in July,

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<v Speaker 1>when he'd sent a letter telling them that he was

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<v Speaker 1>about to begin his trek. What had happened since then

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<v Speaker 1>and where was Lee? The whole situation didn't seem right

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<v Speaker 1>to his parents, and they quickly began to try and

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<v Speaker 1>make a plan to figure it out. His family began

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<v Speaker 1>the painstaking process of trying to figure out where Lee

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<v Speaker 1>had been and what could have happened. This was difficult

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<v Speaker 1>from the outset, given the distance from where Lee had

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<v Speaker 1>last been known to be. His family contacted the Foreign

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<v Speaker 1>Office to try and find out as much information as

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<v Speaker 1>they could. It had been three months since they last

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<v Speaker 1>had contact, and so it was hard to imagine what

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<v Speaker 1>could have happened during this time. The family contacted everyone

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<v Speaker 1>that they could think of to help them, including police

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<v Speaker 1>forces in both India as well as the UK, and

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<v Speaker 1>also the Foreign Office, with the hope that they could

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<v Speaker 1>help to further track him down. They knew his general

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<v Speaker 1>direction of travel, but of course, the area of the

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<v Speaker 1>Himalayas is vast. A description of Lee was circulated, as

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<v Speaker 1>well as photographs of him, which were put in the

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<v Speaker 1>area where he'd last been headed. At the time of

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<v Speaker 1>his disappearance. Lee was six feet one inches tall, with

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<v Speaker 1>blue eyes and long, blonde, straight hair. It was hoped

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<v Speaker 1>that someone would recognize this description, corresponding with authorities in

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<v Speaker 1>another country must have been extremely difficult, given the differences

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<v Speaker 1>in procedures and the fact that Lee was an adult

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<v Speaker 1>who is entitled to travel where he likes. The nature

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<v Speaker 1>of Lee's trip also meant that he told his parents

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<v Speaker 1>he would be out of contact for a while. Interpol

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<v Speaker 1>were involved and were liaising with the Indian High Commission.

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<v Speaker 1>They stated that a search was taking place in the

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<v Speaker 1>area and that they were attempting to track him down.

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<v Speaker 1>Lee's family were determined to do what they can to

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<v Speaker 1>locate him and began trying to conduct their own investigation.

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<v Speaker 1>They found two women who had seen Lee in the

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<v Speaker 1>city of Lay before setting off on his trek. He

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<v Speaker 1>had told them that he was going to undertake a

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<v Speaker 1>very difficult trek to the town of Padam. The women

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<v Speaker 1>didn't want to join him on this trek, and Lee

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<v Speaker 1>told them that he would meet back up with them

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<v Speaker 1>in ten days. The women reported that they didn't see

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<v Speaker 1>him again. They were concerned about Lee not turning up

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<v Speaker 1>at the designated checkpoint, and they were worried enough that

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<v Speaker 1>reported his disappearance to authorities. They gave them Lee's route

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<v Speaker 1>and explained where he'd planned to go. When Lee's parents

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<v Speaker 1>spoke to the Indian authorities about this report. They denied

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<v Speaker 1>that the two women had made it. They were upset

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<v Speaker 1>and frustrated by the lack of information that they were

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<v Speaker 1>receiving and the lack of progress being made to find him.

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<v Speaker 1>Thee's dad said at the time, we just don't know

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<v Speaker 1>what to do. Our son is missing and no one

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<v Speaker 1>seems able or willing to help. Not knowing is the

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<v Speaker 1>awful thing. When Mark Thatcher, Margaret Thatcher's son went missing,

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<v Speaker 1>all the stops were pulled out to find him. Why

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<v Speaker 1>is our son still missing? We feel that we just

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<v Speaker 1>can't get anyone to take notice. From what we can gather,

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<v Speaker 1>there wasn't even a search Fulee, despite the fact that

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<v Speaker 1>two people raised the alarm with the authorities when he

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<v Speaker 1>failed to reach his destination. We want the Foreign Office

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<v Speaker 1>to act and help end our frustration and heartache. The

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<v Speaker 1>weather in that region began to take a turn and

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<v Speaker 1>the investigation was hampered by blizzards. A spokesman from the

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<v Speaker 1>Foreign Office made a statement about the investigation. A search

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<v Speaker 1>has been continuing for some time now. This is a

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<v Speaker 1>very different situation, a wide area and the snows are

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<v Speaker 1>coming in. We have asked for the new Delhi Offices

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<v Speaker 1>for a full report about the situation and expect to

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<v Speaker 1>have that next week. The snow in the region did

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<v Speaker 1>hinder the investigation for a while until July nineteen ninety five.

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<v Speaker 1>The next year, it was reported that a new search

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<v Speaker 1>for him was planned now that the snow began to thaw. Sadly,

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<v Speaker 1>this search did not turn up any new information, and

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<v Speaker 1>time passed for Lee's family with no answers. In two

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<v Speaker 1>thousand and nine, the family made an appeal on the

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<v Speaker 1>fifteenth anniversary of his disappearance. They had lived for over

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<v Speaker 1>a decade without any answers as to what happened to him.

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<v Speaker 1>John and June Buckle explained the Foreign Office told us

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<v Speaker 1>that someone thought they'd seen him three years ago, and

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<v Speaker 1>that spicked it all off again. I love to find

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<v Speaker 1>out anything about Lee, whatever that might be. I'm appealing

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<v Speaker 1>to everyone who's been traveling in India or are going

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<v Speaker 1>to go out to look for him and let us

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<v Speaker 1>know if you think you may have spotted him. We

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<v Speaker 1>try to carry on, but when the four of us

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<v Speaker 1>get together, it's obvious someone is missing, and it's especially

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<v Speaker 1>hard at this time of year. Whether it's good or bad,

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<v Speaker 1>we just want some news of our son this Christmas.

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<v Speaker 1>John also added, we just need closure because the difficult

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<v Speaker 1>thing for us is that there's just no end to it.

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<v Speaker 1>We hadn't had any reason to worry, as he had

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<v Speaker 1>been writing to us. The last contact we had from

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<v Speaker 1>him was in the July. He told us he couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>get in contact for a while as he was going

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<v Speaker 1>to be doing a trek. The last thing I said

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<v Speaker 1>to him was don't go anywhere difficult on your own,

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<v Speaker 1>but sadly that's what he did. We know that the

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<v Speaker 1>likelihood is he isn't alive, missing at a time when

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of people were being kidnapped in the region,

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<v Speaker 1>but a body has never been found, so we live

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<v Speaker 1>in hope. Since this time, there has been little information

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<v Speaker 1>published about Lee's disappearance, and I can't imagine how hard

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<v Speaker 1>that must be for his family. Lee seems to have

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<v Speaker 1>disappeared without a trace, and from what I can gather,

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<v Speaker 1>no trace of him or his possessions have ever been recovered.

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<v Speaker 1>Lee is listed as a missing person on the Missing

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<v Speaker 1>People database, and it's crucial that his disappearance remains in

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<v Speaker 1>the public consciousness despite the time that has elapsed and

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<v Speaker 1>his disappearance so far from home, there is always hope

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<v Speaker 1>that someone will remember something or remember being there during

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<v Speaker 1>that time. I will link Lee's Missing People profile in

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<v Speaker 1>the show notes. Thank you for listening to day two

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<v Speaker 1>of twelve Days of Missing Person episodes in December. Stay

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<v Speaker 1>tuned for Day three in a couple of days. If

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<v Speaker 1>you'd like to support the podcast further, then you can

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<v Speaker 1>on Patreon and contribute to exclusive polls to get extra

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<v Speaker 1>bonus episodes every month. You can also get access to

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<v Speaker 1>new episodes early in ad free. You can use the

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<v Speaker 1>link in the show notes to visit Patreon and see

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<v Speaker 1>what we offer. You can also support us by reviewing

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<v Speaker 1>the podcast wherever you listen in including Spotify as our ways.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Caprice and this has been unseen