Daniel Entwistle: The boy who vanished after going out on his bike

Daniel Entwistle went missing on 3 May, 2003

Twenty years ago today, a seven-year-old boy went on his bike to play in the Norfolk town of Great Yarmouth. He was never seen again.

The last known images of Daniel Entwistle are from grainy CCTV footage of him walking around a shop.

It was a bank holiday Saturday and the youngster had been sent on an errand by his parents. It is understood he returned home and asked whether he could play out on his bike.

His father David told the BBC, before his death in 2015, he allowed Daniel to go out but told him not to go too far away from home.

His red BMX bicycle was found abandoned near Trinity Quay in the early hours of the following morning. Daniel has never been found.

Norfolk Police says the case remains open. Will it ever be solved?

The last sighting

Daniel was 3ft 2in, of thin build with light brown cropped short hair

On the day he disappeared Daniel was apparently spotted at about 15:30 with a group of other boys seen playing near to the river at Trinity Quay.

Then, at 17:05 CCTV footage from the Blencowes convenience store shows him walking confidently down the aisles.

Daniel was 3ft 2in tall, of thin build with light brown cropped short hair.

His family had moved to Great Yarmouth from Burnley, Lancashire, three years before Daniel went missing. As a result, he had a strong northern accent.

It would have taken him about a minute to ride home from the shop.

Fears for Daniel first grew after his bike was found on the quay about 10 minutes from his home.

A tent was put up over the bike and the search to find Daniel was ramped up.

Police divers tried to find him in the River Yare, police dogs searched on land while helicopters scoured the scene from the sky.

About 60 uniformed officers joined with lifeboat crews, the coastguard and local residents in the search for Daniel.

He was not found.

'Outgoing and pleasant'

In 2012, Daniel's father David Entwistle said he wished he had told his son he could not go out on his bike

In 2003, Daniel's mother, Paula, described her son as an "outgoing" and "pleasant" little boy.

"He can be mischievous like a lot of children," she said. "And he's a bit of a loner. But he says 'hi' to anybody.

"He has friends that live locally and we just thought he was there."

The family said Daniel had gone missing previously but was found a couple of hours later.

In 2012, his father David Entwistle spoke to the BBC about the case.

"I don't know if he's alive, I don't know if he's dead," Mr Entwistle said. "He could be still alive, somebody might have taken him.

"He could have fallen into the river. We just don't know, we've got no closure.

"I wish I [had] told him he couldn't play out. It really hurts."

Estranged from Paula, Mr Entwistle moved to Lowestoft where he died in 2015, aged 53. His death was not suspicious.

'New lines of inquiry'

Andy Guy, the force's unsolved case review manager, said: "We recognise the enormity of two decades passing since Daniel went missing and the impact this has had on his family in that time."

Daniel's case currently lies among Norfolk Constabulary's unsolved case files.

Andy Guy, the force's unsolved case review manager, said: "We recognise the enormity of two decades passing since Daniel went missing and the impact this has had on his family in that time.

"As a force we remain committed to finding answers for them and we have continued to explore new lines of enquiry in this case in response to new and credible information.

"In the last five years we have pursued 12 pieces of information passed to us.

"However, despite the original investigation carried out in 2003, our continued efforts and the subsequent appeals in the intervening years, no information or evidence has yet established what happened to Daniel since the last confirmed sighting of him on 3 May 2003."