Damien Richard Nettles (born 21 June 1980) disappeared from Cowes on the Isle of Wight on 2 November 1996 at the age of 16 during a night out with a friend.

[4] Nettles planned to go to a party with his friend, Chris Boon, who lived in East Cowes, so his father, Ed, gave him a lift there.

[6] Once back in West Cowes, Nettles entered Yorkies, the High Street fish and chip shop, but left without ordering anything.

Whilst waiting, they claim a person matching Nettles’ description was eating chips, nestled together with his arms and legs close to his body.

The witness then claims the figure approached him, saying “They are watching us”, before clearing rain off the car window and walking off towards High Street.

[5] Numerous people who witnessed Nettles on the night of his disappearance alleged he looked as though he could’ve been heavily drunk and possibly somewhat confused.

A previous girlfriend of Nettles, Abbie Scott, revealed she believed there were some aspects of his life he was keeping secret, and went on to say it could have involved drugs, although she wasn’t entirely sure.

[4] However, it wasn't possible to completely verify all witness statements from the night of Nettles’ disappearance, as some of the CCTV footage from the High Street that could've featured him, was claimed to be lost by police.

They were both questioned whilst in custody and linked to an address in Marsh Road, Gurnard, Isle of Wight, which was searched by police in the hopes of finding Nettles, or any evidence related to the case.

[11] Nettles’ family became aware their son may have been captured on CCTV whilst on the High Street in Cowes, so they sought out the owners of the cameras, which belonged to a local organisation.

She did however locate her son on the film, which caught Nettles’ last movements, in which he could be seen alone, eating his chips, walking along the empty street just after midnight.

Their aim was to convince police to dig at Parkhurst Forest and Gurnard, as claims were made that Nettles’ remains may be buried there.

[13] In March 2002, Hampshire Constabulary’s major crime department was passed the case, and details of the investigation were entered on to the Holmes computer system.

It was at this point that an informant, who in the 1990’s was connected to a local drug dealer named Nicky McNamara, alleged he told police what happened to Nettles.

[14] In spite of the many investigations conducted, plenty of campaigning, and production of documentaries seeking a resolution, Nettles’ whereabouts still remains a mystery.