'New evidence' in Luke Durbin disappearance inquiry
- Published
Police investigating the disappearance of a Suffolk man five years ago say they may have uncovered new evidence.
Luke Durbin was 19 when he was last seen on CCTV in Ipswich on 12 May 2006 following a night out with friends.
Original witnesses were interviewed again and one reported seeing Mr Durbin being driven in a car by a black man in Woodbridge on 13 May.
Police said they believed the sighting to be significant and urged anyone with information to contact them.
In November 2010, detectives from the Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team took on the case and reviewed the evidence.
Original witnesses were re-interviewed to see whether they recalled anything else that was not captured during the initial investigation.
Det Ch Insp John Brocklebank said he was "extremely encouraged" by the co-operation from witnesses and was hopeful new lines of inquiry could be unearthed.
Missing hours
He said: "My primary role was to undertake a review of the original investigation, but as time went on it became apparent that there were other possible avenues of inquiry.
"So, it has come to this stage where I'm looking for a very specific degree of help from the public, especially those who live or who have lived in Woodbridge."
The sighting of Mr Durbin in a dark blue Renault Megane was between 1100 BST and 1400 BST on 13 May 2006 near the Turban Centre, Woodbridge.
Mr Durbin's mother, Nicki Durbin, said she hoped the new appeal would encourage people to come forward.
She said: "It does bring into question as to what happened to Luke from the early hours of Friday morning until Saturday afternoon and who he was with, and whether or not they know something about his disappearance.
"It is difficult to recall what you were doing five weeks ago let alone five years ago, but I would beg people to think back and if there is anything they can remember about the early hours of Friday morning to the Saturday afternoon regarding Luke, I would plead with them to contact the police."
Mr Brocklebank said: "Although this still remains a missing person inquiry, we are looking at all possibilities of what has happened to Luke, which includes Luke being unlawfully killed."