Jesus Moreno: All lines of inquiry exhausted in missing man search - police

Every possible line of inquiry has been "exhausted" in the search for the founder of a Leeds brewery who went missing eight months ago, police say.

Jesus Moreno, 41, owner of the Piglove Brewing Co, was last seen at Harewood Bridge on the North Yorkshire border on Monday, 1 August 2022.

Det Insp Ryan Malyk, of West Yorkshire Police, said despite "extensive inquiries", no new leads had emerged.

However, he added that officers "remain committed to finding him".

Mr Moreno was reported missing on 2 August last year, with concerns raised for his welfare.

He caught a number 36 bus on 1 August, getting off on the A61 Harrogate Road on Swindon Lane near Dunkeswick, just before 06:40 BST, police said.

Mr Moreno was seen on CCTV at 08:14 that morning near Harewood Bridge, two miles from beauty spots on the River Wharfe at Netherby, which he had previously visited.

CCTV showed him wearing a black T-shirt, with the logo of his business on it, black jeans and carrying a black Vans rucksack with a chequered pattern.

Mr Moreno was described as 5ft 7in (1.7m), with long curly brown hair, a brown beard and an orange octopus tattoo on his upper left arm.

Since his disappearance, specialist officers had checked the River Wharfe down to Ulleskelf, North Yorkshire, and carried out underwater searches of specific locations along the river, according to the West Yorkshire force.

Detectives had also followed up various reports of sightings of him across the country, but they were all believed to be "well-intentioned sightings of males of similar appearance", police said.

Det Insp Malyk said he had recently met members of Mr Moreno's family to update them on the investigation.

"We are acutely aware they are continuing to go through a really difficult time while his disappearance remains unresolved," he said.

Det Insp Malyk said it was "completely out of character" for Mr Moreno to go missing like this.

"As it stands, we have explored and exhausted every possible line of inquiry to find him, and unfortunately that has not brought us any progress beyond the last confirmed sighting of him at Harewood Bridge," he added.

Anyone with information about Mr Moreno's whereabouts, or with information which could be useful to the investigation, was asked to contact West Yorkshire Police.

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