'My dad vanished a decade ago'

The daughter of a man who disappeared 10 years ago says she is living a constant nightmare and just wants to find out what happened to him.

Damion Vernon, from Bridlington, East Yorkshire, was 32 when last seen walking down an alleyway in Wakefield on 8 December 2014. He has not been seen or heard from since.

Courtney Vernon, 23, described her father as "the kindest, funniest, bubbliest person".

She said: "Please, if you know anything, just find it in your heart to speak out. I've had this for 10 years and I don't think I can go through another 10."

She added: "Regardless of whether it's positive or negative, then my mind can rest.

"I hope that if he's passed, he's at peace. But I won't be at peace until I know."

Humberside Police has issued a fresh appeal for information about Mr Vernon, who is still being treated as a missing person.

CCTV images show him queuing at the TSB Bank on Manor Street, Bridlington – the last confirmed sighting on the day he disappeared.

Officers believe he then travelled by car to Wakefield. The route took him on the A64, M62, A655 and A645, where he stopped at a BP filling station.

He continued towards Wakefield on the A638 Doncaster Road, before turning right into Elm Tree Road and immediately left into Sycamore Street, where he left his Vauxhall Corsa and was witnessed walking up an alleyway between houses.

The car was later found in the same spot. His mobile phone and bank cards have not been used and no body has been found.

Ms Vernon was a teenager at the time. She remembered the close-knit family being surprised when her father failed to turn up for a dinner that night.

Her grandmother quickly became worried. "She rang the police and said, 'I think there's something wrong'.

"She never recovered. She died of a broken heart four months after my dad went missing."

Ms Vernon lost her mother in 2021 and said she did not know how she got through each day.

'I've done it for 10 years. It's like a routine having to cope. It's the hope that kills you," she said.

"We just need closure as a family. Whatever the outcome is, I think we deserve to know what happened.

"I have so many questions. The amount of scenarios I've gone through in my head – there are so many different outcomes and possibilities. You try to piece it all together."

Acting Ch Insp Owen Stafford said it was "most important" to bring comfort to the family, "even if the news is not positive".

He added: "Get in touch Damion. You've got a daughter and two grandchildren. Courtney wants to see you. She misses you."

Taking part in the appeal to find her father, which includes regular posts on social media, made her feel like she was doing something positive.

"If anyone knows anything about my dad then I hope they can speak out in some way.

"My main question is why? Why is it him that's gone, and why is nobody speaking out, because someone must know something?

"With it being 10 years, this is the worst I've felt. This is a whole decade without my dad."

Courtney said Christmas, which her father loved, was a particularly hard time.

"We'd always get him aftershave for Christmas, because he loved it, and when I smell it, that reminds me of him.

"Every Christmas, every birthday, every anniversary, we raise a glass to him."

Anyone with information can call police on the non-emergency number 101, quoting log 125 of 2 December 2024. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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