The latest episode of BBC One’s Reported Missing followed the real life case of a missing newly wed.
Wednesday’s (September 9) installment was all about adults who have apparently vanished into thin air.
The missing person in question was 28-year-old Darren, who had disappeared six weeks after getting wed.
Inspector Simon Orton and the team at Durham Police were initially left baffled after the report three days following the last confirmed sighting.
He said: “I would expect that there will be some crumb: some spark, a sighting, a phone call from somebody who’s spoken to them. There will be a proof of life – and that’s what we’re after, a proof of life.
“But it’s almost like he just disappeared off the face of the earth.”
As detectives dug deeper into events leading up to Darren’s disappearance, they uncovered secrets and lies, from witnesses who changed stories to claims of drug use.
Claire McElvaney and her partner from Darlington CID had to work out what was relevant to their investigation and what is not.
Claire said: “People do have secrets. It’s quite common. Our job is to work out who they really are and what they’re about. What they’re thinking, how their lifestyle is.”
However in a tragic twist, the mysterious case was solved by chance when wreckage of Darren’s car was found wrapped around a tree in deep bushes hidden from the road.
In sad scenes, officers found Darren dead inside, with a coroner ruling he had died as a result of an accidental road traffic collision.
On Twitter, one viewer reacted: “I can’t so heart broken watching this tonight 😞 #reportedmissing”
Reported Missing airs on BBC One Wednesday nights at 9PM.
You can watch episodes online via the BBC iPlayer here.
