The Force is with us – day and night
REPORTED MISSING BBC1, 9pm/ BBC Wales 11.15pm
WHEN Peter visits his 82-year-old father Archie at home one morning as normal, he finds the house is empty.
Archie, who suffers from advancing dementia, has vanished, leaving no sign or clue as to where he might be.
This is the last episode of the documentary following Durham Police, and yet another devastating missing persons case.
Cameras have followed cases as they unfold minute by minute, interviewing loved ones left at home, while a beeping clock occasionally reminds us of the urgency of the situation.
Every two minutes someone in Britain is reported missing – a shocking and terrifying fact.
In this case, PC Geoff Moore is trying to piece together as much information as possible from Archie’s son Peter, mindful that emotions are running high.
Unfortunately everything about the case screams high risk.
Archie is on medication for dementia and has missed that day’s dose, and is recently bereaved, having lost his wife Pat two months earlier – just before their 50th wedding anniversary.
Sergeant Barry Evans says: “Has he slipped and hurt himself, and do we need to find him because he needs medical assistance? Or is it the case that he’s taken a walk and gone too far, that he’s bewildered and he doesn’t know what to do? Or has somebody taken advantage of his vulnerabilities?”
Police officers are dispatched to check the local area, but daylight is diminishing and soon a full-scale land and air search is launched.
But, as hours tick by without so much as a single confirmed sighting, and a neighbour comes forward with CCTV of potentially suspicious activity at Archie’s home, the police begin to suspect foul play.