Fresh appeal to help find Damien (From Daily Echo)

New appeal on anniversary of Damien Nettles disappearance

3:10am Friday 2nd November 2012 in News

DETECTIVES have made a fresh appeal for help in the search for a teenager who vanished 16 years ago today.

Officers investigating the disappearance of Damien Nettles, 16, say they have received at least 20 calls since police offered a £20,000 reward for information that could finally locate him.

But they still waiting for a vital breakthrough in the case, which began at Cowes on the Isle of Wight on November 2 1996.

Today police asked residents to cast their minds back to the day Damien disappeared after an evening out.

They revealed that adverts appealing for information will be screened on Wightlink's cross-Solent ferries until the end of March, when the reward offer expires.

Superintendent Dave Powell, leading the investigation, said: “Since the reward was announced on October 4 we have received at least 20 pieces of information.

“Police are grateful for the public's continued interest and support for our efforts to find out what happened to Damien. We are determined to solve this with the help of the community.

“The information received over the past month is being assessed by detectives, who are keeping an open mind about future lines of enquiry.

“We must not draw any premature or hasty conclusions. Regrettably we must remember that Damien's disappearance has been the subject of much misinformation and gossip over the past 16 years.

“The crucial challenge in this case is separating fact from fiction. Only facts will allow our enquiries to locate Damien and the answers sought by police and the Nettles family.”

Damien, of Gurnard, disappeared after visiting Yorkie's fish and chip shop off Cowes High Street. His mother Valerie, who now lives in Texas, says her son may have been killed over a debt.

£20,000 reward to help find Damien - click here