Mystery surrounds disappearance of two West Midlands men who went missing over 15 years ago
Police are appealing for information on two men who were last seen boarding a ferry in Portsmouth before never being seen again.
West Midlands Police have asked for help in gathering information on two men from the West Midlands who have been reported missing for more than 15 years.
Gary Tilston, aged 30, of Coventry, was reported missing in July 2002, after boarding a ferry to Portsmouth; however, he was never seen again.
More than four years later, Paul Carter, aged 22, of Birmingham, was also spotted boarding a ferry to Portsmouth; however, he was also never seen again.
West Midlands Police has said that the two missing cases are not linked; however, both men went missing under 'similar circumstances'.
Gary was 30-years-old at the time and was living in the Coventry area when he booked a ticket for a ferry leaving Portsmouth to Saint-Malo, France.
The now 53-year-old was seen boarding the ferry, which left at 8.30pm, on July 24, but there was never any evidence that he got off.
His property was discovered on board, which included his passport, ID, personal belongings and house keys. Later enquiries found that Gary may have been drinking in the bar area and was travelling alone.
Similarly, Paul, who would be 40 now, was living in Birmingham at the time when he booked a ticket for a ferry leaving Portsmouth to Saint-Malo, which he was seen to board, but then disappeared without a trace.
The ferry left at approximately 8.30pm on April 20, 2007, but there was never any proof that he got off once docked in France.
Paul was in the company of three colleagues at the time and was last seen walking around the ferry looking for a place to sleep.
His colleagues each found a place and agreed to meet up in the morning; however, when the ferry docked on April 21, Paul was never found.
A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: "At the time, Gary was 5ft 9ins, had slim build, wore glasses, and had wavy brown hair. He also was missing his right index finger on his right hand, and previously had jaw surgery which might have been noticeable.
"Paul was approximately 5ft 10ins tall, had slim build, short dark brown hair, was clean shaven, and had a tattoo of a snake on his right arm. He lived in the Birmingham area at the time."
If you know anything about what happened to Gary, please call 101 or use Live Chat quoting missing person reference MPCV/9264/10.
If you know anything about what happened to Paul, please call 101 or use Live Chat quoting missing person reference MPD2/2076/07.
