Heartbroken dad's plea to trace daughter missing from West Midlands leaving three cats behind

A heartbroken dad has issued a desperate plea to trace his daughter who went missing from a West Midlands town leaving her three cherished cats behind.

Katie Love, 48, was reported missing from Nuneaton at the end of February 2026.

In the months that followed, Warwickshire Police have carried out searches, reviewed hundreds of hours of CCTV footage and spoken with Katie’s friends and family to try and understand more about what might have happened to her.

Police say two men - a 48-year-old and a 49-year-old from Nuneaton – who were arrested on suspicion of murder have been bailed while a second 49-year-old man from Nuneaton was released under investigation (RUI) in connection with Katie’s disappearance.

She remains missing and the case is still under investigation by the force’s major crime team. However, her dad hasn’t given up hope that she will be found as he has issued a desperate plea for anyone with information to come forward as “there’s an emptiness where she should be.”

He said: “No matter how old she gets, Katie will always be my little girl, and I miss her every day she’s not here.

"The house just feels different. It’s quieter and there’s an emptiness where she should be.

“Even with everything going on in her life, she was always there when it mattered. That’s the Katie I know and love,” he said.

“I remember when she was younger, she dreamed of having a sports car so when I could afford it, I bought her a second-hand one. I can still picture her driving, the wind in her hair, just looking happy. Those are the memories that stay with you.

“I still feel like she’s going to come back and I think about her constantly. The other day, I could have sworn she was standing next to me in the living room, smiling. I dream about her all the time, but then you wake up and she’s still not here.”

Recalling how his daughter grew up with a passion for animals that resulted in her working in kennels, the fact she left behind her three cats – Melly, Shelly and Badger – is what first alerted him to her disappearance.

He added: “She adores those cats and I know she wouldn’t have left them without good reason. She’s always been a caring person, and you could see that from the way she looks after them.

“She’s always been so strong, so affectionate and so loving – with Katie what you see is what you get.

"She might be fiercely independent and live life on her own terms, but she’s always there when you need her and she’s got so much love to give.

“If anyone knows anything, please come forward. Help us find out where she is and what’s happened. Katie’s missed more than words can say and I just want her home...”

Anyone with any information is urged to shar it with police online through the Report | Warwickshire Police page or via the dedicated Public Portal referencing incident number 143 of 23 February.