Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Missing boy of 13 home safe after BGT appeal
He sees choir pic and returns
A TEENAGER featured in the Missing People Choir’s appeal on Britain’s Got Talent final has been found. As the group performed in the show’s live semi-final and final, photos and names of dozens of those who have vanished were shown above the stage. A boy, who we are not naming, saw his photo and returned home. Missing People Choir co-founder Clare Cook said: “We are delighted to announce a 13-year-old who we appealed for on Britain’s Got Talent during the choir’s performance saw his appeal and called his mum. He is now home safe and well.” It came as a significant lead was reported to the charity’s helpline in the search for Tom Moore after images of him were shown during the show. He has been missing for 14 years. Brother Ben said a video was sent to the family of a man who looked like Tom in Italy, which they are now investigating. The choir includes the sister of missing Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards, the father of chef Claudia Lawrence, and Peter Boxell and Denise Horvath-allan, whose children have both been missing for 28 years. They brought the judges to tears during their performance of I Miss You, a song written by Boxell which includes lyrics from schoolgirl Alice Gross, who was murdered in 2014 aged 14. This week it was revealed police were searching a graveyard for missing 17-year-old mum Natalie Putt days after she also featured on the show. Detectives said they had begun exhuming four graves in a West Midlands cemetery. Natalie left her home in Lower Gornal, Dudley, to go to a shop in September 2003. She was never seen again and left behind her 11-week-old son. Since their first audition in April, the choir have raised nearly £7,000 through their fundraising campaign. The group lost to pianist Tokio Myers in the grand final of the ITV competition last Saturday. ■ To donate to Missing People, visit their Justgiving page.