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

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

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<v Speaker 1>is day one of our twelve days of missing person

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<v Speaker 1>cases throughout December. I have produced these episodes for the

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<v Speaker 1>last three years and I continue to believe that discussing

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<v Speaker 1>these cases is so important. Today we're going to be

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<v Speaker 1>looking into the disappearance of Sean Thompson in nineteen ninety three.

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<v Speaker 1>Over three decades has passed since his disappearance. However, Shan's

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<v Speaker 1>case is still unsolved. This episode is about a missing

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

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<v Speaker 1>the listener discretion is advised. Notingly is a town located

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<v Speaker 1>within the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire. It's a

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<v Speaker 1>relatively small town with around fourteen thousand people and is

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<v Speaker 1>around fourteen miles away from Wakefield and twenty miles away

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<v Speaker 1>from Leeds. In nineteen ninety three, twenty five year old

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<v Speaker 1>Sean Thompson lived in the town along with his family.

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<v Speaker 1>On the eighteenth of March nineteen ninety three, Sean left

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<v Speaker 1>his home in Nottingay to go to the job center.

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<v Speaker 1>His family've explained in recent reporting on the case that

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<v Speaker 1>Sean had a medical condition called metasarus vrus, which meant

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<v Speaker 1>that he walked on his tiptoes. There seemed to be

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<v Speaker 1>nothing strange about Sean making this trip to the job

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<v Speaker 1>center that day, given that it was a routine thing

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<v Speaker 1>and not out of the ordinary. What was out of

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<v Speaker 1>the ordinary, however, was that he never returned. His family

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<v Speaker 1>became concerned when Shan had not come home, given that

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<v Speaker 1>his trip to the job center should not have been

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<v Speaker 1>a long one. This was out of character for Sean

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<v Speaker 1>and it does not appear that it's something that he

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<v Speaker 1>did regularly. When he still hadn't returned, his family reported

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<v Speaker 1>him missing to West Yorkshire Police. When police began looking

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<v Speaker 1>into the case, they couldn't find any evidence as to

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<v Speaker 1>where Sean might have gone. The terrifying thing is that

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<v Speaker 1>it seemed Sean had disappeared into thin air after leaving

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<v Speaker 1>his home. A description of Sean was distributed to the

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<v Speaker 1>public in the hope that someone had spotted him on

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<v Speaker 1>the eighteenth of March when he left home. Shan's described

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<v Speaker 1>as white, around five feet ten inches tall and slim.

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<v Speaker 1>He has a pale complexion, sharp brown hair and brown eyes.

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<v Speaker 1>The fact that Sean also had a medical condition. Metasaurus

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<v Speaker 1>virus was also included in the description, given that this

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<v Speaker 1>would have been a notice of feature and one that

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<v Speaker 1>would have been recognizable for anyone that saw him that

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<v Speaker 1>day or any days after that. Despite the investigation into

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<v Speaker 1>Shan's disappearance, at the time, there was little evidence as

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<v Speaker 1>to where he'd gone after he left his home to

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<v Speaker 1>go to the job center, and there seemed to be

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<v Speaker 1>no sightings of him. Weeks, months, and then years began

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<v Speaker 1>to pass with little information coming into the police about him.

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<v Speaker 1>It seemed as though he had vanished into thin air

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<v Speaker 1>that day, and while adults are allowed to leave without

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<v Speaker 1>informing anyone, his family knew that this was not like him,

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<v Speaker 1>and they continued to try and find him throughout the

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<v Speaker 1>next twenty years. His family continued to hope that they

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<v Speaker 1>would finally get some answers as to what happened to Shan,

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<v Speaker 1>and the police have stress that they're still looking for him.

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<v Speaker 1>In two thirteen, on the twentieth anniversary of Sean's disappearance,

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<v Speaker 1>West Yorkshire Police, along with Sean's family, appealed for information

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<v Speaker 1>about him. DCI Neil Lineham of West Yorkshire Police's Homicide

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<v Speaker 1>and Major Inquiry teams stated. Jean and Ruth have been

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<v Speaker 1>waiting twenty years to find out what happened to their

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<v Speaker 1>son and brother, and I would like to facilitate their reunion.

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<v Speaker 1>It's very unusual for someone to not be seen or

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<v Speaker 1>heard of for this amount of time. Someone will know

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<v Speaker 1>where Sean is. We have digitally enhanced a photo of

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<v Speaker 1>Sean through the age progression process to show what he

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<v Speaker 1>could look like now twenty years on. Take a look

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<v Speaker 1>at the image and let us know if you recognize

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<v Speaker 1>him or may have seen someone who looks like this Sean.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're watching, listening, or reading this, please get in

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<v Speaker 1>touch so we know you're safe and well. Sean had

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<v Speaker 1>a distinctive gait and suffered from the medical condition metatasus vrus,

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<v Speaker 1>meaning he walked on his tiptoes. It is possible that

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<v Speaker 1>he's received treatment for this condition since his disappearance and

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<v Speaker 1>no longer walks in this way. I would like to

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<v Speaker 1>speak to anyone who may know someone who does walk

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<v Speaker 1>in this fashion or who has previously walked in this

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<v Speaker 1>way and that fits Sean's description, to contact the police.

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<v Speaker 1>I would like to stress Sean has not committed any

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<v Speaker 1>criminal acts. Police have not since elaborated on any theories

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<v Speaker 1>about what they think may have happened to Sean, and

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<v Speaker 1>unlike in other cases of missing people, they have not

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<v Speaker 1>stated that they believe there's any foul play involved in

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<v Speaker 1>his disappearance. Since this appeal in twenty thirteen, there doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>seem to have been any updates about the investigation, and

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<v Speaker 1>as of writing in November twenty twenty five, Sean has

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<v Speaker 1>now been missing thirty two years. Confirm that since Sean disappeared,

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<v Speaker 1>there have been no sightings of him and seemingly nothing

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<v Speaker 1>to suggest his whereabouts or any interactions with members of

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<v Speaker 1>the public. Sean's family spoke to the press in twenty

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<v Speaker 1>thirteen about his disappearance. Sean's sister Ruth explained, they always

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<v Speaker 1>say time's a healer, but for us it hasn't been,

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<v Speaker 1>as we have no idea where Sean is. It's like

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<v Speaker 1>he's literally fallen off the face of the earth. We

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<v Speaker 1>live every day hoping he will walk back into our

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<v Speaker 1>lives and we will know he's safe. It's been very

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<v Speaker 1>hard not knowing what's happened to Sean. Dad died not knowing,

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<v Speaker 1>and I know Mum doesn't want to be in the

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<v Speaker 1>same situation. If anyone knows where our Sean is, please

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<v Speaker 1>get in contact with the police to put our minds

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<v Speaker 1>at rest. We just want to know that he's safe.

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<v Speaker 1>Sean's family have been appealing since he went missing and

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<v Speaker 1>love nothing more than to find out where Sean is

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<v Speaker 1>and what happened to him. In nineteen ninety three, on

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<v Speaker 1>the twenty year anniversary of his disappearance, there was an

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<v Speaker 1>age progression photo produced of Sean to show what he

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<v Speaker 1>would look like. In twenty thirteen, this was shown to

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<v Speaker 1>the public in the hope that someone would recall seeing him.

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<v Speaker 1>I will post this photo on social media for those

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<v Speaker 1>that want to take a look at it. The West

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<v Speaker 1>Yorkshire Police have stated that if you know anything about

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<v Speaker 1>the disappearance of Sean Thompson in Nottingley in nineteen ninety three,

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<v Speaker 1>then please contact Missing People or the police on one

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<v Speaker 1>oh one. I will link Sean's Missing People profile in

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

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<v Speaker 1>of our twelve Days of Missing Person Cases in December.

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<v Speaker 1>Stay tuned for Day two in a couple of days.

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<v Speaker 1>As always, thank you so much for your support. If

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

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

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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, including Spotify, and also just

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<v Speaker 1>share the episodes. As always, I'm Caprice and this has

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<v Speaker 1>been unseen