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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's day five of our twelve days of missing person

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<v Speaker 1>cases in December. We're looking into the disappearance of Andrew

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<v Speaker 1>Dill from Birmingham in two thousand and three. His mum

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<v Speaker 1>has been appealing since he went missing to find any

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<v Speaker 1>information about where he is. This episode is about a

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<v Speaker 1>missing person and does not contain any descriptions of violence. However,

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<v Speaker 1>listener discretion is always advised. On the evening of the

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<v Speaker 1>twenty eighth of April two thousand and three, thirty eight

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<v Speaker 1>year old Andrew Dill got onto a train going into

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<v Speaker 1>Birmingham City Center. He got on the train at Hennesford.

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<v Speaker 1>Hennisford is a market town which is located in Cannock

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<v Speaker 1>Chase in Staffordshire, is around sixteen miles north of Birmingham.

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<v Speaker 1>This train journey in the evening may have taken between

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<v Speaker 1>forty minutes and an hour, depending on whether Andrew had

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<v Speaker 1>to change at another station. It wasn't a tricky journey

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<v Speaker 1>to navigate and not one that should have caused him

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<v Speaker 1>any problems. This journey into the city center therefore, was

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<v Speaker 1>completely normal for him. Andrew is a father of three

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<v Speaker 1>and someone who was very close to his family, and

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<v Speaker 1>so they expected that he would be in contact as

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<v Speaker 1>he usually was. They received a few texts from him

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<v Speaker 1>and the days and weeks that followed. However, on May

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<v Speaker 1>the twentieth, he stopped contacting them altogether. Sporadic contact could

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<v Speaker 1>have been explained, but no contact was completely out of character.

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<v Speaker 1>His family and friends were soon worried about him when

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<v Speaker 1>they couldn't speak to him or find out where he was.

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<v Speaker 1>They couldn't understand why Andrew would just stop contact altogether,

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<v Speaker 1>and they were that worried that they contacted West Midland's

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<v Speaker 1>police to report him missing. By the time that his

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<v Speaker 1>family had realized that something was wrong, around a month

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<v Speaker 1>had passed and police had a backtrack to find out

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<v Speaker 1>where Andrew had been after he'd arrived at Birmingham New

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<v Speaker 1>Street station on the twenty eighth of April. Through investigation,

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<v Speaker 1>they were able to find a witness who reported seeing

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<v Speaker 1>Andrew on Soho Road in the Hockley area of the

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<v Speaker 1>city the day after he got off the train. Today,

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<v Speaker 1>so Ho Road is a diverse community with many locally

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<v Speaker 1>owned businesses, but it's had its fair share of difficulties.

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<v Speaker 1>It has often been named as the red light district

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<v Speaker 1>of the city and an area where crime is quite

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<v Speaker 1>prevalent in two thousand and three, though I'm unsure if

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<v Speaker 1>this was the case or whether this description may not

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<v Speaker 1>have been as accurate. Regardless, it was thought that this

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<v Speaker 1>is where Andrew was spotted. This, however, was not the

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<v Speaker 1>last contact with Andrew that anyone had. Andrew's family reported

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<v Speaker 1>receiving texts from him in the weeks up until the

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<v Speaker 1>twentieth of May. Where was Andrew during this time? Was

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<v Speaker 1>he still in Birmingham, and if so, where was he now?

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<v Speaker 1>His text contact did not match with the fact that

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<v Speaker 1>nobody had reported seeing him in person or speaking to

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<v Speaker 1>him on a phone call during this time. Police were

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<v Speaker 1>very interested in finding out where Andrew's phone was. They

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<v Speaker 1>put out a description of the phone in the hope

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<v Speaker 1>that they may be able to track it down. Police

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<v Speaker 1>were working under two possible theories about this. Andrew had

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<v Speaker 1>had the phone with him after April twenty eighth until

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<v Speaker 1>May the twentieth, and that something had happened after that point.

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<v Speaker 1>The other theory, which the police appeared to think may

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<v Speaker 1>have been likely was that someone else had possessed of

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<v Speaker 1>Andrew's phone after this point and it was not him

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<v Speaker 1>communicating with his family. This of course adds a more

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<v Speaker 1>sinister element to the case, and it meant that someone

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<v Speaker 1>was purposely impersonating Andrew, and this could have meant that

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<v Speaker 1>he had met with foul play. The Tettor Inspector Rachel

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<v Speaker 1>Allen from the Forces Locate Team said, we have conducted

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<v Speaker 1>extensive inquiries into Andrew's disappearance, but we are still no

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<v Speaker 1>closer to finding out what happened to him. We know

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<v Speaker 1>he owned a light blue Nokia thirty three to ten

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<v Speaker 1>mobile phone with dark blue trim and an Orange network logo.

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<v Speaker 1>This could have been in the possession of someone else

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<v Speaker 1>after twenty eighth of April two thousand and three, so

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<v Speaker 1>I would like to hear from anyone who knows anything

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<v Speaker 1>about that. Police issued a description of the phone and

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<v Speaker 1>a picture of what it might have looked like. This,

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<v Speaker 1>it was hoped, would drum up some new leads from

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<v Speaker 1>people who may have seen someone with that phone or

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<v Speaker 1>know anything about the text that were sent from it

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<v Speaker 1>after April or twenty eighth. Police also appealed for anyone

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<v Speaker 1>with information however small, to come forward to help both

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<v Speaker 1>them and Andrew's family. They said, we also appeal for

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<v Speaker 1>anyone with any information at all to come forward, no

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<v Speaker 1>matter how insignificant it may seem, it could still add

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<v Speaker 1>to a bigger picture. Andrew's family, his parents and his

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<v Speaker 1>children would love to be reunited with him. Not knowing

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<v Speaker 1>what happened to him is almost unbearable. Andrew's mum, Maizie,

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<v Speaker 1>has been dedicated to appealing and campaigning in her son's

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<v Speaker 1>case and from the outset has been determined that he

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<v Speaker 1>has not been forgotten. She has spoken to the press

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<v Speaker 1>and work with police to try and locate any information

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<v Speaker 1>or evidence. She has been handing out leathlets about Andrew

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<v Speaker 1>and visiting bir Mingham New Street train station in the

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<v Speaker 1>hope that someone remembers something about him. Twenty twenty three

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<v Speaker 1>marked twenty years since Andrew disappeared, and she has not

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<v Speaker 1>given up hope that he might be found. She stated,

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<v Speaker 1>we have had so many family milestones and events that

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<v Speaker 1>Andrew has missed, and his absence is always in the

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<v Speaker 1>back of our minds. I would just like to see

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<v Speaker 1>him once more before I go. She also echoed this sentiment,

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<v Speaker 1>saying We miss him every Birthday and Christmas, and especially

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<v Speaker 1>now on the anniversary of his disappearance. We will be

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<v Speaker 1>so pleased to see him back with his family. He

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<v Speaker 1>is well missed and so well loved as well. It's

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<v Speaker 1>clear that while there is a lack of evidence and

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<v Speaker 1>information about where Andrew is and what happened to him,

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<v Speaker 1>he has not been forgotten by West Midland's police and

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<v Speaker 1>especially by his family. There is still the lead of

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<v Speaker 1>Andrew's phone and the fact that someone may have been

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<v Speaker 1>in person in him in the weeks after his disappearance.

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<v Speaker 1>This indicates that whoever this person was knew that he

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<v Speaker 1>would be missed and had the foresight to get ahead

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<v Speaker 1>of these issues. If Andrew has met with foul play,

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<v Speaker 1>why and what exactly happened. The most important thing that

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<v Speaker 1>his family want to know is where is he? Someone

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<v Speaker 1>out there must know what happened to Andrew or spoke

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<v Speaker 1>to someone who does. Do you have information about the

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<v Speaker 1>disappearance of Andrew Dill in two thousand and three His

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<v Speaker 1>family deserved to know. Contact police via the live chat

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<v Speaker 1>on the force's website. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers

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<v Speaker 1>on eight hundred five five five one one one quoting

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<v Speaker 1>log one three zero two of thirteen slash bore. All

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<v Speaker 1>the information will be in the show notes. Thank you

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<v Speaker 1>for listening to today's episode. Listening in a few days

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<v Speaker 1>today six, where we'll cover another missing or unidentified person case.

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<v Speaker 1>and follow us on social media. As always, I'm Caprice

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<v Speaker 1>and this has been unseen b