Missing man's family want answers 18 years on

Terry McSpadden's mother and daughter say they need to know why he was killed and where his body was left

The family of a man who has been missing for 18 years said they hoped the birth of his grandson would lead to new information.

Terry McSpadden, from Wisbech on the Norfolk-Cambridgeshire border, was 24 when he was last seen on 2 March 2007.

His son Charlie is due to become a father.

The family and detectives suspect he was murdered and his daughter Kayce Burton urged anyone with information to contact police.

The 22-year-old said she only had one vivid memory of her dad, bathing and splashing her with water.

"I just feel like it's time someone came forward and actually told the truth and gave us answers," she said.

"It's a life-changing thing for anybody, but growing up, I really do want more answers now."

Kayce Burton has only one vivid memory of her dad, being aged four when he disappeared.

Terry had been working as a window fitter and his family said he doted on his two children who were aged four and 18 months at the time.

The night before he disappeared he had been drinking with friends in The Locomotive pub in Wisbech.

He was seen on CCTV withdrawing money from a cash machine at Tesco at 01:00 GMT, and buying goods in the store.

He never turned up at work that Friday morning.

In 2013, a crown court judge threw out a murder prosecution on grounds of insufficient evidence. Three years later, Norfolk Coroner's Court ruled Terry likely died the day he disappeared.

Since then, Norfolk Police has had no new leads to investigate.

Terry McSpadden worked as a window fitter and he was said to have enjoyed his job where he often worked overtime

His mother Helen Thrower, 64, said: "This anniversary, Christmas, kids birthdays; it's all a nightmare.

"You're stuck in limbo all the time because you don't know where he is, what happened to him, why it happened and it's just horrendous."

In the next few days, Mr McSpadden's son Charlie and his partner Amelia are expecting their first child, a son they are already calling Albie.

"It's going to be a happy time, but it's going to be a sad time because we will all be thinking Terry should be here," said Mrs Thrower.

Andy Guy, the unsolved case review manager for Norfolk Police, says they hope more information will lead to justice for Terry McSpadden's family

"He's always there in the back of your head," Mrs Thrower continued.

"I quite often talk to him while I'm walking around the house doing housework and stuff and sometimes have a giggle to myself when I think about some of the things he used to get up to, because he was a bit of a joker."

Andy Guy, an unsolved case review manager at Norfolk Police, said the force could conduct forensics tests if Mr McSpadden's body was found.

"That would be the best outcome for us; if we could establish that we would have a start point for the investigation," he explained.