Bus drivers join hunt for missing man
GRANDAD VANISHES AFTER SEEING FAMILY
AN army of bus drivers is searching for a grandad who worked for Stagecoach for 30 years but has been missing without his medicine for several days.
Dogs, helicopters and police are also involved in the hunt for Alfred Sykes, 80, from Hazel Grove, Stockport, known as ‘Alf the bus’ because he was a wellknown bus driver.
He was last seen by his distraught family at his granddaughter’s house after calling round for a haircut on Wednesday.
Alfred left at around 2.30pm to catch a bus home on Buxton Road, Great Moor, but there have been no confirmed sightings of him since.
The Mountain Rescue Service has also joined the search, which is concentrating on the area around Bramhall Park after sniffer dogs picked up a trail from a bus stop.
His family has appealed for the public’s help to find him. Alfred is thought to have no money or food with him.
Granddaughter Natalie Mills, 31, said: “He’s never been missing before – he does the same thing at the same time every day, you can set your clock by him. He was even going home for his usual dinner of a cheese toastie.
“He is gentle, loving and very familyorientated – he rings you up to say what the weather will be and what sort of coat or brolly you may need. He’s very thoughtful.
“The more time passes, the more the thought that he will be OK dwindles. If grandad can see this we want him back where he belongs with his family.
“If anyone has seen him or found him, or has any information, please get in touch because we want him home so we can look after him.”
It is thought Alfred, who has been a widower since his wife, Bernadette, died in 2003, may have got lost and disorientated after getting on the wrong bus or staying on one for too long.
He is white, around 5ft 3ins and slim, with short grey hair. He is thought to be wearing a dark fleece, jeans and a bobble hat.
There was a possible sighting of him on Egerton Road, Davenport, at around 4.30pm on Wednesday.
Alfred should have got off the bus at Hazel Grove railway station near his home.
Police have circulated Alfred’s photo with bus drivers and checked bus CCTV but to no avail.
Det Insp Jane Morgan said: “As time goes on we are more and more concerned for his whereabouts, especially with the weather being cold.
“We did dog-tracking that led us to the Bramhall Park area, where we are concentrating the search. That is really all we have to go off, there is no other information or reason for him going missing.”
Anyone with information can call police on 101.