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 is day two of twelve days of missing person
Speaker 1: cases throughout December. We're going to be exploring the disappearance
Speaker 1: of Alan Murray in twenty ten. His disappearance caused immediate
Speaker 1: concern for his family and friends due to the vulnerable
Speaker 1: state that he was in at the time that he
Speaker 1: went missing. This episode is about a missing person and
Speaker 1: does not contain any descriptions of violence, but listener discretion
Speaker 1: is always advised. Northfield is a residential area south of
Speaker 1: the city of Birmingham. It was originally an industrial area
Speaker 1: where many different industries thrived in the nineteen and early
Speaker 1: twentieth centuries. It's an area with good links to the
Speaker 1: city of Birmingham, as well as the area of Bonneville,
Speaker 1: a model village created for the employees of the Cadbury Factory.
Speaker 1: Northfield is where sixty four year old Alan Murray lived.
Speaker 1: In twenty ten, Alan lived alone in Jenner's Lane. Despite
Speaker 1: the fact that he did live alone, Alan had been
Speaker 1: married to his wife, Sheila, and they had a son together.
Speaker 1: In twenty ten, Alan and Sheila were then separated and
Speaker 1: Alan was now living alone. While he lived alone, he
Speaker 1: was known to have quite a few friends at the
Speaker 1: Woodcock Pub, which was his local in an area called
Speaker 1: Bartley Green. These friends were known to be regulars at
Speaker 1: the pub along with Allan. Allan struggled with mobility problems
Speaker 1: and was on medication for health issues that he had.
Speaker 1: For this reason, on April fifteenth, those that knew him
Speaker 1: were worried when they hadn't seen him for a few days.
Speaker 1: Due to his vulnerable state and his mobility issues, his
Speaker 1: friends and family became concerned when they hadn't seen him
Speaker 1: at all. His family reported him missing on April fifteenth,
Speaker 1: after an houring down that Allan had last been seen
Speaker 1: on April the twelve. West Midland's Police became involved and
Speaker 1: launched a missing person inquiry to figure out where Alan
Speaker 1: could have gone. The concern was that he hadn't been
Speaker 1: seen by people that knew him and the fact he
Speaker 1: was listed as a vulnerable person. He had mobility problems
Speaker 1: and used a walking stick. He was also on medication
Speaker 1: which he needed to take daily. When police had searched
Speaker 1: his home in Jenna's Lane, they found that Alan had
Speaker 1: not taken his walking stick with him or his medication.
Speaker 1: Why Allan had left without these things was unknown, as
Speaker 1: these were things that he needed to be able to
Speaker 1: get by throughout the day. As well as this, he
Speaker 1: hadn't taken his glasses with him either. Alan had never
Speaker 1: been missing before and so this was definitely out of
Speaker 1: character for him. Police were also concerned about his vulnerable
Speaker 1: mental state, given that he had a history of depression
Speaker 1: and had been in a depressed state at the time
Speaker 1: that his disappearance had been reported. Despite this, his family
Speaker 1: felt like this disappearance was very out of the blue
Speaker 1: and not something that he would normally do. Police began
Speaker 1: making inquiries into where Alan had been seen. They were
Speaker 1: able to narrow down that he had last been seen
Speaker 1: at his home on April twelfth, at around ten forty
Speaker 1: five am. Where Alan had gone after this point, however,
Speaker 1: was unclear. Officers began to search the local area for
Speaker 1: any sign of him, and this included searching the thick
Speaker 1: gorge around Badley Reservoir. They used helicopters and sniffer dogs
Speaker 1: to try and track down any sign of him. They
Speaker 1: checked with the regulars at the Woodcock Pub to see
Speaker 1: if anyone knew where he might have gone, but nobody
Speaker 1: had seen him. Alan's bank account was also analyzed to
Speaker 1: see if he had taken any money out since he'd
Speaker 1: been missing. However, this also raised red flags he hadn't
Speaker 1: accessed his bank account since he had been missing. Detective
Speaker 1: Inspector Jim Foy said, we are doing everything we can
Speaker 1: to find Alan and have conducted extensive searches of the
Speaker 1: area to try and locate his whereabouts, but to no avail.
Speaker 1: There have also been several unconfirmed sightings of Alan since
Speaker 1: he went missing, but all leads have proved unfruitful. We
Speaker 1: are concerned that Alan's bank account activity has shown no
Speaker 1: notable access or activity for this missing person. This leads
Speaker 1: us to be very anxious with regards to Allan's current whereabouts.
Speaker 1: Our aim is to find Allan safe and well and
Speaker 1: to be able to offer his family some form of
Speaker 1: resolution so they can have peace of mind. If anyone
Speaker 1: has any knowledge, even what may be considered minor information,
Speaker 1: as to his whereabouts, we urge them to contact the police.
Speaker 1: A description was issued of Alan. He was described as
Speaker 1: a white male, five foot six inches tall, of medium build,
Speaker 1: with sinning gray hair and a full beard. He was
Speaker 1: wearing white trainers and light blue trousers when he was
Speaker 1: last seen. He has numerous tattoos on his arms and body.
Speaker 1: One of these tattoos was described as reading Tracy and
Speaker 1: Allan inscribed inside a heart on his left hand. It
Speaker 1: was hoped by issuing this description, someone would recognize him
Speaker 1: or be able to give the police a lead on
Speaker 1: where he had been seen. Despite this, however, if any
Speaker 1: leads came forward, then nothing has been published about it.
Speaker 1: Alan's family have been hoping for answers since he disappeared,
Speaker 1: and his ex wife, Sheila, said about it, his disappearance
Speaker 1: came out of the blue and was a huge shock
Speaker 1: to the family. There's a huge hole in our family
Speaker 1: now and we just want to know what has happened
Speaker 1: to him. It doesn't matter where he's been or what
Speaker 1: he's been doing. We just want him home or to
Speaker 1: call us to say he's okay. The worst case scenario
Speaker 1: has gone through everyone's mind, but we're trying to remain
Speaker 1: positive that he's somewhere safe and well. It's just a
Speaker 1: horrible waiting game. As well as his ex wife, Alan
Speaker 1: left behind a son, who was sixteen at the time
Speaker 1: of his disappearance and would be in his thirties now
Speaker 1: without finding out out what happened to his dad. There
Speaker 1: have been few updates since the original articles, and it
Speaker 1: would seem that Alan's case, like many of the cases
Speaker 1: I'm covering this December, remains at the same point that
Speaker 1: it was in twenty ten. His family deserved to find
Speaker 1: out what happened to him and where he is and
Speaker 1: what I'm sure love answers. If you know anything about
Speaker 1: the disappearance of Alan Murray, then please contact West Midlands
Speaker 1: Police on one oh one. Thank you for listening to
Speaker 1: today's episode. Listening in a few days to day three,
Speaker 1: where we will cover another missing or unidentified person case.
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Speaker 1: and this has been unseen