Great Yarmouth: Missing Boy 10 Years On

3 May 2013, 00:00 | Updated: 3 May 2013, 06:06

Ten years since Daniel Entwistle went missing from Great Yarmouth, detectives are appealing for anyone with any new information to make contact in the hope they can help provide closure for his family.

The 7-year-old disappeared from near his home at Copperfield Avenue, Great Yarmouth on Saturday 3 May 2003 - a May Bank Holiday weekend.

His parents Paula and David became concerned later that evening when he failed to return for tea and started to look for him, enlisting the assistance of friends and neighbours.

The local community rallied round and soon a major investigation was underway with police seeking help from numerous agencies specialising in search and rescue techniques.

Daniel was identified on the CCTV at Blencowes, a local convenience store nearby to his home at around 5.05pm that day.

There were other potential sightings of him during that day including being with a group of other boys seen playing near to the river at Trinity Quay at around 3.30pm.

His little red BMX bike was found abandoned near to the river close to Trinity Quay in the early hours of the next morning and sonar examinations of the riverbed soon formed a major part of the inquiry.

Despite the huge police search involving many people and other agencies no trace of Daniel was ever found. He remains a missing person to this day.

Detective Inspector Gary Bloomfield of Norfolk Constabulary's Major Investigation Team (MIT), said: "We hope that the 10 year anniversary of the disappearance of Daniel may help jog the memory of anyone who believes they have vital, fresh information to help us piece together exactly what happened to him.

"Daniel would have been a teenager now and the last few years have been a heart-breaking time for his family who have had to live with the fact that he has never been found and therefore had no closure.

"He went missing during the Bank Holiday weekend and we would like to take this opportunity to appeal to anyone who believes they may have been in the area and have new information to come forward."

Detective Inspector Gary Bloomfield spoke to Heart reporter Hannah Griffiths:

Daniel Entwistle 10th Anniversary - DI Gary Bloomfield

Key events in the lead up to Daniel's disappearance included:

• In April 2003 the Iraq war effort was given a major boost when a statue of Saddam Hussein is toppled in Baghdad and it is confirmed that Hussein's rule has ended.
• On May 1 the local elections took place in the UK.

Other entertainment facts for May 2003:

• Busted scored their first UK chart topper when "You Said No"
• Madonna returned to the top of the album charts with American Life.
• Films X-Men 2, Johnny English and Phone Booth were all out

Daniel was described as being 3' 2" tall, of thin build with light brown cropped short hair. He had a pale complexion and a strong Northern accent. 

Daniel, who had two brothers Antony, 10, and John, two, was last seen wearing a blue Adidas T shirt with striped sleeves and an Adidas motif on the chest, blue tracksuit bottoms and grey coloured training shoes.

The family were originally from Burnley in Lancashire, but had moved to the Norfolk area 3 years earlier to be near members of Paula's family.

Daniel attended Greenacre First, Middle and Nursery School and was described by his headteacher at the time as being "a delightful little boy, always with a ready smile and a ready quip".

Anyone who believes they have any fresh information relating to Daniel's disappearance are asked to contact Norfolk Constabulary's MIT on 101.