Speaker 1: Hi, and welcome back to The Unseen Podcast, a podcast
Speaker 1: dedicated to missing people, unresolved cases and UK true crime.
Speaker 1: Today's day six of our twelve days of missing person
Speaker 1: episodes throughout December. Our aim is always to highlight missing
Speaker 1: people from throughout the UK and tell their stories. Today
Speaker 1: we're going to be exploring the disappearance of Matthew Riley
Speaker 1: from Barnstable in Devon, who went missing in nineteen ninety nine.
Speaker 1: This episode is about a missing person so does not
Speaker 1: contain any descriptions of violence, but listener discretion is always advised.
Speaker 1: On the morning of January fourteenth, nineteen ninety nine, twenty
Speaker 1: nine year old Matthew Riley was at home with his parents,
Speaker 1: Tim and Jacqueline. Matthew had moved back to the family
Speaker 1: home three years earlier after moving back from Bath. During
Speaker 1: that time, Matthew had just completed an art course in
Speaker 1: the city and had attempted to find himself a property
Speaker 1: to open his own art studio. Matthew was an abstract
Speaker 1: artist and was very interested in exhibiting his own work.
Speaker 1: Finding a place to do this, however, proved difficult, and
Speaker 1: while he loved living in Bath, he decided the best
Speaker 1: thing to do was moved back home for a while
Speaker 1: to try and establish himself. Three years later, Matthew was
Speaker 1: still living with his parents and had set up his
Speaker 1: studio in the home. Matthew's father described him as having
Speaker 1: a great sense of humor that he loved, saying it
Speaker 1: was never aimed at anyone, and he had this great
Speaker 1: comfortable way about him. He was thoughtful and private. He
Speaker 1: never wore his emotions on his sleeve. Matthew was living
Speaker 1: in the family home with his parents and his sister Sarah,
Speaker 1: but despite living together, he remained quite private and independent.
Speaker 1: He didn't eat with the family and would usually keep
Speaker 1: himself to himself. His dad, Tim said he never liked
Speaker 1: to make a fuss and just went about his life
Speaker 1: without bringing any attention to himself. Therefore, on the morning
Speaker 1: of January fourteenth, his parents didn't think much of it
Speaker 1: when he left the house without saying goodbye to them.
Speaker 1: Matthew often went on walks by himself and did not
Speaker 1: always say where he was going or when he would
Speaker 1: be back. Jacqueline would later say that she got up
Speaker 1: from her chair to say goodbye to Matthew, but that
Speaker 1: he had already rounded the corner of the street by
Speaker 1: the time she looked out of the window to see
Speaker 1: where he was. There was no reason at that point
Speaker 1: to believe that this was anything other than his usual
Speaker 1: daily walk, and nothing stood out as strange. This did
Speaker 1: start to change, though, when Matthew hadn't returned within a
Speaker 1: couple of hours. He didn't usually leave for that long,
Speaker 1: and so this was a bit unusual for him. The
Speaker 1: hours continued to tick by, and when Tim and Jacqueline
Speaker 1: went to bed that night and he was still not back,
Speaker 1: the worry turned into panic. Why had Matthew not returned.
Speaker 1: When the couple woke up the next morning and he
Speaker 1: was still not back, they were now concerned enough to
Speaker 1: ring the police. They officially reported Matthew missing. An investigation
Speaker 1: was quickly launched and officers began trying to locate Matthew.
Speaker 1: They deployed a helicopter with heat seeking technology in the
Speaker 1: local area with the hope that they would find him
Speaker 1: quickly and easily. They were worried for several reasons. This
Speaker 1: was January in the UK, and even just a night
Speaker 1: outside without shelter or some support could be fatal, and
Speaker 1: so time was not on their side. There was also
Speaker 1: the fact that Matthew could have been deemed as vulnerable
Speaker 1: during this time. His father, Tim later explained that Matthew
Speaker 1: was in a depressive state at the time that he'd disappeared.
Speaker 1: He had been feeling stressed about his work as a
Speaker 1: freelance artist, as his artwork had not been selling as
Speaker 1: well as he'd hoped that it would. Exhibitions that he
Speaker 1: was due to be part of had fallen through at
Speaker 1: the last minute, and he was creatively and financially down
Speaker 1: at the time that he had gone missing. As well
Speaker 1: as this, he had been suffering with a viral infection
Speaker 1: at the same time, and this had added to his
Speaker 1: low mood. While these may not have been the reasons
Speaker 1: for his disappearance, it clearly had to be taken into
Speaker 1: account by the police investigating Matthew as a missing person.
Speaker 1: Tim would later find out that there had been a
Speaker 1: four hundred pound withdrawal from Matthew's account, and this in
Speaker 1: a way supported the idea that he had had about
Speaker 1: Matthew perhaps to take a quote temporary break from the stress.
Speaker 1: Tim stated that this four hundred pounds had been sent
Speaker 1: to him by a relative for Christmas, and Matthew may
Speaker 1: have thought about using this to get away from his
Speaker 1: current situation. There was no concrete evidence for this, though,
Speaker 1: and without finding Matthew, there was no knowing for sure.
Speaker 1: A description of him was distributed to the public as
Speaker 1: well as photographs. Matthew was described as white, five feet eleven,
Speaker 1: with short, dark brown hair and brown eyes. His parents
Speaker 1: worked closely with the police and were determined to get
Speaker 1: Matthew's story out there as well as his picture. They
Speaker 1: were desperate to find him. Jacqueline sent over two thousand
Speaker 1: letters to businesses and organizations in the local area along
Speaker 1: with Matthew's missing poster, asking for them to display it.
Speaker 1: It was hoped that the more peace people saw Matthew's image,
Speaker 1: they may remember him or it made jog memories. This
Speaker 1: did work, as one person ranging with a tip which
Speaker 1: could be relevant. A year after Matthew's disappearance, a former
Speaker 1: colleague of his who worked at a local pub, rang
Speaker 1: in to say that they had spotted him at Gordano
Speaker 1: service station along the M five motorway. He said he
Speaker 1: walked past Matthew on the way out of the services
Speaker 1: but didn't think anything of it at the time as
Speaker 1: he wasn't aware that Matthew was missing. He said he
Speaker 1: only realized the significance of what he'd seen around two
Speaker 1: months later, when he realized that Matthew was missing and
Speaker 1: had been for a while. This is an important sighting
Speaker 1: as this person knew Matthew personally and would have had
Speaker 1: some idea if it was really him or not. It
Speaker 1: also highlights the importance of putting up posters and displaying
Speaker 1: information about missing people, as without it, some people may
Speaker 1: not be reporting information they have without intending to. They
Speaker 1: may just not know how relevant it is. In two
Speaker 1: thousand and five, Matthew's mum, Jacqueline, passed away from inoperable
Speaker 1: brain cancer without finding out what happened to him. This
Speaker 1: was clearly a very traumatic time for Matthew's family, and
Speaker 1: the fact that they have been enabled to tell him
Speaker 1: about it must be heartbreaking. In two thousand and six,
Speaker 1: Tim spoke to the press saying, it has been so
Speaker 1: long since Matthew went missing and we miss him terribly.
Speaker 1: We have some very important family news concerning his mother
Speaker 1: to pass on and would dearly love to hear from Matthew.
Speaker 1: We love Matthew very very much, but do not wish
Speaker 1: to interfere in his life. We just want to know
Speaker 1: that he is safe and well. That same year, a
Speaker 1: national missing person campaign was launched, with images of missing
Speaker 1: people being displayed around six hundred underground stations and railway
Speaker 1: stations across the UK. Matthew's image was among them, and
Speaker 1: it was hoped that again this appeal may bring information
Speaker 1: and tips from people who may not have known that
Speaker 1: they knew something important. This was not to be, however,
Speaker 1: with nothing relevant to Matthew's disappearance coming in. Matthew's family
Speaker 1: have never given up looking for him, and over the
Speaker 1: years they have continued to appeal in any way possible
Speaker 1: for information and hope that he will return to them.
Speaker 1: Tim has explained that his disappearance has caused an emotional
Speaker 1: disturbance for his entire family, and that they continue to
Speaker 1: write Matthew's Birthday and Christmas cards. They even struck a
Speaker 1: note up on their front door for a while which
Speaker 1: said welcome home Matthew ring the bell. They hoped every
Speaker 1: day that this would happen. Tim explained that over the
Speaker 1: years he has hoped for any contact. That one time,
Speaker 1: after a hip operation, the phone at his home rang.
Speaker 1: He couldn't get to the phone quick enough, and it
Speaker 1: rang off before he got there. He said he always
Speaker 1: regrets not reaching the phone in time in case it
Speaker 1: was Matthew. In two thousand and nine, he said, of course,
Speaker 1: it's gone through my mind that Matthew may have come
Speaker 1: to harm, or that he might even be dead. But
Speaker 1: I soon snapped myself out of that way of thinking.
Speaker 1: If he was dead, I'm sure we'd know about it.
Speaker 1: I just want him to come back, or to at
Speaker 1: least know that he's okay. I miss him every day.
Speaker 1: I think about him all the time, and I just
Speaker 1: live with this constant sense of loss. His family had
Speaker 1: done everything they can to try and locate Matthew and
Speaker 1: have never given up on him, hoping that he will
Speaker 1: see their appeals and come home. Tim has sadly also
Speaker 1: passed away, and this year Marx twenty five years since
Speaker 1: Matthew walked out of his house and never returned. His
Speaker 1: sister Sarah still appeals and campaigns to try and find him,
Speaker 1: and hopes that she will one day to make the
Speaker 1: twenty fifth anniversary of his disappearance. This year, Sarah posted
Speaker 1: a message saying, Matthew, it's been too long. We have
Speaker 1: a lot of catching up to do stories, to swap
Speaker 1: Paul to play You'll whoop my ass, no doubt there
Speaker 1: are people who would love to meet you. I've been
Speaker 1: married for twenty years and you have a niece who
Speaker 1: is amazing. At least just let me know that you're well.
Speaker 1: Matthew has missed an awful lot and his family desperately
Speaker 1: want to know where he is and if he's okay.
Speaker 1: Matthew went missing in January nineteen ninety nine and may
Speaker 1: have been seen a year later the Gordano service station
Speaker 1: on the M five motorway. A withdrawal of four hundred
Speaker 1: pounds was made from his account and he may have
Speaker 1: been able to use this to live on for a
Speaker 1: short while. Since then, however, no contact has been made
Speaker 1: and no sightings have been corroborated. Where is Matthew Riley?
Speaker 1: Missing people have said, Matthew, if you're reading this, please
Speaker 1: get in touch. You can call us on one one
Speaker 1: six zero zero zero or email one one six triple
Speaker 1: zero at missingpeople dot org dot UK. Our service is
Speaker 1: non judgmental, confidential and free. Thanks to support from players
Speaker 1: of People's Postcode lottery. We just want to provide you
Speaker 1: with the support you need and help you to be safe.
Speaker 1: Our helpline is here to support people who are missing,
Speaker 1: thinking of going missing, and for loved ones who are
Speaker 1: left behind. The helpline is free and confidential and is
Speaker 1: operated by trained staff and volunteers. I will leave all
Speaker 1: the information in the show notes for anyone who thinks
Speaker 1: they know anything about Matthew's disappearance. Thank you for listening
Speaker 1: to today's episode. Listening in a few days today seven,
Speaker 1: where we'll cover another missing on Identified First in case.
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Speaker 1: and this has been unseen