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Financial.

0:39

P.G. Woodhouse once said that

0:41

golf, like the measles, should

0:44

be caught young, for if postponed

0:46

to riper years, the results

0:49

may be serious.

0:51

James Nutley got bitten by the golfing

0:53

bug early, which is how the

0:55

25-year-old found himself one

0:57

windy October in the Welsh seaside

1:00

town of Tenby. He

1:02

was there with his golf club for a tournament and

1:04

the first night of the trip began, as it always

1:06

did, with a journey through several of the

1:09

region's drinking dens.

1:11

When James reached his limit, he decided

1:14

to make the return journey to his hotel, located

1:17

on the promenade overlooking Tenby's South Beach. The

1:21

trip should have taken him no more than six

1:23

minutes on foot, ten if

1:25

you factor in his tipsy state and

1:27

the gale-force winds he was battling as he walked.

1:31

But James never made it back to his

1:33

hotel.

1:35

He was last seen on CCTV

1:38

just 38 yards from the door

1:40

of the Gilta, where he and his friends

1:42

were staying. Almost 20 years

1:45

later, his parents, Catherine

1:47

and Geoffrey,

1:48

and sister Helen, are still waiting

1:50

for him to come home. I'm

1:54

Pandora Sykes, and you're listening to

1:56

The Missing, a Podomo podcast

1:58

series produced by What's the Story? and

2:01

brought to you with help from the charities Missing

2:03

People and Locate International.

2:06

They believe that all of the cases

2:09

in this series could still be

2:11

solved. This

2:12

is The Missing,

2:14

James Nutley.

2:23

The Nutleys had two major passions, racing

2:27

and golf. Catherine's

2:29

family had always kept horses, and

2:31

Geoff, in his younger years, had been

2:33

a jockey. The pair meeting when

2:35

he happened to be taking one of her dad's stallions

2:38

out for a spin. They

2:40

were instantly smitten with one another, and

2:43

then, after a long engagement, we

2:46

got married in 1976 on a beautiful

2:49

frosty day at the

2:51

local golf club.

2:55

Eventually, injury forced Geoff to hang

2:57

up his jockey silks. And

3:00

then he decided to change horsepower,

3:03

and he went into mini, like

3:05

mini coaches, mini buses.

3:07

And Catherine got a job working in Lloyd's

3:09

bank. And luckily,

3:12

Geoffrey had managed to save a bit of

3:14

money from his race riding, and

3:17

he was able to buy his parents

3:19

a safe farm, but

3:21

he always used to say it was a house with a large

3:24

garden, so he'd had 21 acres with it. Known

3:27

locally as Charity Farm, the

3:30

couple's new home was just a stone's throwaway

3:32

from Coent, the village

3:34

where Catherine had grown up, in the county

3:37

of Monmouthshire. Three

3:39

years later, James, their first

3:41

child, was born.

3:44

He was asthmatic, and we only found

3:46

that out when he was nine months old.

3:50

And we nearly lost him, because of

3:52

course the breathing problem.

3:54

And we had quite a frightening time,

3:57

but luckily, hospitals were pretty

3:59

good. then and he

4:02

came through it but he we

4:04

didn't wrap him up in cotton wool which is

4:06

what my grandmother and my

4:08

aunts wanted me to do. James

4:11

was soon followed by a daughter Helen and

4:14

the pair of them had the run of the place. We'd

4:18

been given these red wellies and

4:22

red suits outside

4:24

suits, zip up you know like a snow suit

4:27

and he decided to take his sister

4:30

for a walk around the farm and

4:32

he pushed her into the snowdrift and left her there

4:35

and came back home and

4:37

we said well where you know where's Helen? I

4:40

don't know. Luckily

4:42

being in the red snow suit you could see her

4:45

straight away.

4:46

James was no stranger to a bit of light-hearted

4:49

hell-raising. We used

4:51

to have a couple of dogs

4:53

about the farm you can imagine this.

4:57

He let them out after you tell him

4:59

not to and he also had a habit of

5:01

taking the keys out the car and hiding them.

5:05

And the farm being a farm

5:06

there was no shortage of animals.

5:09

Everybody seemed to want to dump

5:11

their unwanted chickens,

5:14

ducks, dogs on us.

5:16

We were like the lost property for dogs and

5:19

he loved all those animals. Now Helen

5:21

wasn't too keen at all

5:24

on them she didn't. We had a few cattle,

5:26

we had few ponies, then

5:28

we found James was allergic to ponies, to

5:30

hair, you

5:32

know with his asthma and

5:35

then the way we got rid of it, the

5:38

allergies to horses

5:40

or hair, was he

5:42

used to go to the race meetings so

5:44

the more he was closer to them the

5:46

more immune he got. The

5:49

not least were plugged into the local amateur racing

5:51

scene and the whole family

5:53

spent many a Saturday at point-to-points

5:56

all over Monmouthshire. You

5:58

would take your picnic

6:00

and it's a social gathering. One

6:03

which usually ended up in the nearest pub. And

6:06

then there was the farm.

6:07

We used to do a bit of hay making which

6:09

was great fun. James used to like to

6:12

drive the tractor. That's

6:15

when he was a bit older of course. But no,

6:18

Jeffrey decided one day he thought

6:21

they might like some pet lambs. So

6:24

he brought home a ewe and

6:27

she had triplets and

6:30

then she died the mother died. So you're left

6:32

left with these three pet lambs

6:34

technically. So we had to bottle feed them. So I

6:36

would or Jeffrey one James the

6:39

other and Helen the other and they

6:41

were proper pets

6:42

and they never went off the farm. James

6:46

was a bright student and a keen footballer

6:49

but it wasn't until he stepped onto his first

6:51

fairway at the age of 12 that

6:53

he realised where his

6:54

interests truly lay.

6:57

Our local golf club was at the sort of the

6:59

end of our lane. They carried

7:02

their golf clubs up the road and

7:04

across a gate and then they were on the golf course and

7:06

you'd give them a pound each and they'd stay

7:08

there for the whole day. And they'd

7:10

have just a basket of chips

7:13

and lots of mayonnaise and tomato

7:15

sauce all on it.

7:17

You knew they were safe

7:18

and we actually felt that the golf taught

7:21

the manners as well. On the

7:23

farm there was no shortage of places for

7:25

James to hone his swing. Well

7:28

Jeffrey in the barn he actually put

7:31

in those days you had used to have like rubberback

7:33

carpet so he hung it up quite

7:36

a large lot and it was like you could hit

7:38

the balls into it. It was like a net so

7:40

we'd all practice like that and

7:43

then if you wanted to get the real you'd

7:45

go out on the grass and then you

7:47

could hit it at one side of the field and

7:49

hopefully not lose the golf ball for the cattle to eat.

7:52

They would try chewing it and that's for sure. He

7:54

was always told don't hit the

7:56

ball back towards

7:59

the house.

8:00

and one particular day that's just

8:03

what he did, it hit the house

8:05

and ricocheted into the cow in screen.

8:08

So he wasn't very popular. Together

8:11

the Nutley family were a force to be reckoned with

8:14

at their local golf club. I think

8:16

we won everything at the golf club myself,

8:19

Jeffrey, James and Helen. We

8:21

all managed to clear out you know

8:23

clear a few trophies occasionally.

8:26

James was proving to be a talented golfer.

8:28

He was selected for his county team

8:31

and made junior captain and

8:33

even went on to win the Cannes French

8:35

Open when he was 17. He

8:37

was presented with his trophy by

8:39

Welsh golfing legend Ian Woosnum.

8:43

He came down to

8:45

a very good handicap

8:47

and but his temperament

8:50

wasn't quite right for it. He really wanted

8:53

to be better than he was and if

8:55

the shot wasn't perfect well you could

8:57

see that club fly in. When

9:00

James left school he applied for a job

9:02

at the racing post.

9:04

He was no stranger to the betting shop and

9:06

he hoped to parlay his encyclopedic knowledge

9:08

of racing into a career.

9:11

He was very miffed he didn't get it but

9:14

he actually took part in a competition

9:16

it was called the 10 to follow where

9:19

you had to pick 10 horses and

9:22

at the end of the season you had points

9:24

for if they'd won second or third anyway

9:26

he finished 10th in that and I think

9:28

he won 4,000

9:30

pounds. He

9:32

was an avid follower of form.

9:36

James got a job working at a warehouse which

9:39

he hated

9:40

but then he landed his dream gig

9:42

which was working

9:45

for a golf manufacturer which

9:47

supplies golf clubs

9:50

the actual clubs you play with and

9:53

he was a demonstrator

9:57

so he was off all over the country.

10:01

James spent the summer of 2004 driving

10:05

around the UK in a white van, laden

10:07

with golf gear, visiting clubs

10:10

and pro shops the length and breadth of

10:12

the country,

10:13

and he had an absolute ball along the way.

10:16

It wasn't a full time, it was

10:18

contracted to sort of the summer

10:20

months like August to September, so

10:22

it was the August to September

10:26

before he went missing.

10:28

One of the stops James made that summer was

10:30

in the seaside town of Tenby in

10:32

south west Wales,

10:34

a place he was very familiar with and

10:36

one which would come to be of major significance

10:39

for him and his family.

10:41

Every year during half term in October,

10:44

James would travel there with his golf club for

10:46

a competition

10:47

and 2004 was no different.

10:51

Since he'd been a junior playing

10:53

golf, the club or

10:55

the juniors had always

10:57

gone on a golf trip in that

10:59

particular time which was half term in

11:01

October and previously

11:04

of course Jeffrey had gone with him and

11:08

the motto was juniors

11:11

look after your adults. It

11:14

was because the adults got into terrible states

11:16

while they were away.

11:17

James got up early on the morning of October

11:20

the 24th to get in one

11:22

last practice session before leaving

11:24

for Tenby.

11:25

When they had to it was a big competition. Then

11:30

he came home, my parents

11:33

were there, they were having lunch and we put a

11:35

dinner up for James. He

11:38

spoke to my grandfather, my father

11:41

sorry about racing because there was racing

11:43

on the television and they had a discussion

11:45

about that. Then

11:47

he went and packed his bag because

11:50

he had a special tightless bag that was given to him

11:52

for work and then his

11:54

friend came round and

11:57

he said I might play

11:59

golf on the way back at on

12:01

the Tuesday and I'll

12:04

see you later. And

12:06

that was it. Go.

12:12

James was picked up from his home that afternoon

12:15

by a friend who also lived in Caldecott.

12:18

The four young men in the car, surrounded

12:21

by their bulky golf equipment, made

12:23

the 110 mile journey in just over

12:26

two hours. The

12:28

CCTV shows

12:31

them arriving in Temby and

12:34

they went to the

12:36

Cashpoint machines to

12:38

get money. Then I think

12:40

they went to booking at the hotel

12:42

which is on the seafront

12:44

of the South Beach. The

12:46

hotel in question was known as the Gilta,

12:49

a beautiful Victorian building. They

12:51

were staying in different hotels which did

12:54

cause a bit of confusion and

12:57

they went to the pub

12:59

called the Lifeboat. And

13:01

some people remember seeing him in there at the

13:03

time.

13:05

I think they just all met up. Then

13:07

they went back to the hotel and

13:10

changed to go back out. So

13:12

that was about seven o'clock at night. Over

13:16

the course of the next four hours, James

13:18

and his golf buddies embarked on a pub crawl,

13:21

taking in several nautical themed taverns

13:23

along the way.

13:24

They ended up in a late night bar

13:27

called the Prince of Wales. And

13:29

apparently he was sick in there so

13:31

it can tell you that a bit. But

13:35

the chap who kept the pub was a

13:37

friend of one of the golfers and

13:39

I think they, James decided he was

13:42

walking home.

13:43

The Prince of Wales was on Upper Frog Street,

13:46

just a five minute walk from James's accommodation

13:49

on the seafront. He left the

13:51

bar alone at approximately 11 40 pm and

13:53

he was last seen at 11 57 when

13:55

he was picked up by

13:59

sea sea lions.

13:59

crossing the road

14:02

towards the Atlantic Hotel,

14:04

just 35 metres away

14:06

from the entrance to the Gilta. But

14:10

given the late hour James's absence

14:13

wasn't picked up on until the following

14:15

morning. They'd

14:17

all come down for breakfast, although he was sharing

14:19

a room, but they thought then

14:21

James must have met his other friend Philip because

14:24

this is where all the different hotels

14:26

came into it and they thought he'd gone to see

14:28

Philip, so they didn't really

14:31

worry about him. And it was only when they

14:33

came down to breakfast in the morning

14:35

of the 25th there

14:37

was no James, so oh

14:39

well we've got his clubs

14:41

and stuff in the car or we'd

14:43

go to the golf club. Well

14:46

James didn't appear did he? So

14:48

I think that's when they raised the alarm.

14:51

As well as the tourists that the golf tournament attracts,

14:54

Tenby is a popular hen and stag

14:56

destination,

14:56

which means that the

14:59

local police force have dealt with their fair

15:01

share of wayward drinkers, people

15:03

who usually turn up looking sheepish a few

15:05

hours after their friends have reported

15:07

them missing. The police told James's

15:10

companions that he'd probably gone home

15:12

with someone, slept in and would

15:14

turn up later with his tail between his

15:16

legs. But then a discovery

15:19

was made that forced them to take

15:21

things seriously.

15:28

A tourist turned up at the police station to

15:30

hand in some lost items.

15:33

They had come across a driving license, a

15:35

national insurance card, a euro

15:38

golf card and a Paddy Power

15:40

bookmakers card lying loose

15:43

on the sands of South Beach, all

15:46

of which belonged to James.

15:50

And at that point the police knew

15:52

it was time to notify his family. I

15:55

think I got a phone call or

15:58

Jeffrey had a phone call.

15:59

And then friends came to, I was working

16:03

in the bank, it was about half past five. They all

16:05

hammered on the door and we let them in and

16:08

they just said James is missing.

16:10

So then it was back home. Jeffrey

16:14

had given up smoking, he had a cigarette in

16:16

his hand and he was very upset,

16:18

as you can imagine. And

16:21

Helen had the sense to get a photograph.

16:25

Catherine

16:25

and Helen drove to Tenby right away,

16:27

with Jeff electing to stay behind, in

16:30

case James phoned or turned up at the house.

16:33

By the time they arrived at the seafront that night,

16:36

the search for James had begun in earnest

16:39

and the police had engaged the assistance of

16:41

a sniffer dog team to examine

16:43

the beach where James's IDs had

16:45

been found. Well I'll

16:48

tell you the strange thing, Helen had

16:50

a top of James's

16:50

on and we

16:53

went past this van in the police station

16:55

and then all of a sudden it

16:57

started rocking and howling with dogs, they

16:59

had dogs in. They were tracker dogs,

17:02

so the police had had these dogs out

17:04

looking for James, but they'd

17:07

lost the scent at

17:09

the turning where it went from the road

17:11

along to the seafront.

17:12

But they reckon

17:15

it was the wind that had taken the scent away. You

17:18

must remember that

17:21

it was a very stormy night.

17:22

The weather

17:24

had been atrocious the night James had gone missing.

17:27

He had battled a force-ate gale as

17:29

he made his return journey along the seafront.

17:34

And Tenby is actually like

17:37

a walled wall town and

17:39

when you come to a certain point, when

17:41

you come towards the sea, the wind

17:43

would hit you.

17:45

So you come down a road and you turn right

17:48

back to the hotel, so that's where he would

17:50

have hit the wind. The police

17:52

spent that first day searching the beach

17:55

as well as interviewing all of James's friends.

17:58

After meeting his parents, They asked

18:00

them to come down to the station, first

18:02

thing the following morning.

18:05

We could stay at the gilt tower, which is where James was

18:08

staying. They got a room

18:10

for us there. And

18:12

I remember Helen and I looking

18:14

out the window and you could see lights going

18:17

up and down the beach, which was

18:19

the Coast Guard and police looking

18:21

up and down the beach. And we

18:23

walked round, didn't see a soul.

18:27

At 12 o'clock at night, I think we only saw a police car,

18:29

and it was as calm as anything. James's

18:32

friends could barely look Catherine in the

18:34

eye.

18:35

Though they were all very distraught, the

18:37

ones that were staying in the same hotel, they just couldn't

18:39

speak to us really. But

18:42

the police did say that all

18:44

the statements they took, everything

18:46

tallied up. You know, there

18:48

was no discrepancy in what they all said. Well,

18:52

you know, that shows they were telling the truth

18:55

to me. And they all wished, you know,

18:57

one of them had come home with James, but hindsight's

19:00

wonderful, isn't it?

19:01

After a restless night at the hotel, Catherine

19:04

and Helen made their way to

19:07

Tenby police station.

19:10

So

19:10

the next day then we go, and

19:12

it's a very small police station.

19:14

So I had to do what I'm like doing

19:16

now from his birth to what he did. Did

19:20

he try and commit suicide? We

19:22

went through that. And the

19:24

policeman did say, well, if he wanted

19:26

to do that, he could have

19:27

jumped off the seven bridge.

19:29

The idea that James had taken his own

19:32

life

19:33

was one Catherine couldn't even begin to

19:35

contemplate. James

19:37

was a happy person in the prime

19:39

of his life, away with his

19:41

closest friends for a trip where he got

19:44

to indulge in his favourite hobby. They

19:46

had spoken not long before his disappearance,

19:49

but how excited he was about the months ahead.

19:52

Yeah, well, the calendar for the

19:55

rest of the year was like, play

19:58

golf here, play golf there, go into the race.

19:59

is here, gotta meet so and so, you

20:02

know. The forward calendar

20:04

was looking good, I mean he'd even ordered up stuff

20:07

from Amazon that was due to

20:10

arrive when he got back.

20:14

As the Nutleys answered questions about

20:17

James in a small dimly lit

20:19

room,

20:20

outside the search continued.

20:23

The seafront was a hive of activity.

20:26

Lifeboats scoured the chilly waters

20:29

of South Beach. A heat-seeking

20:31

helicopter hunted for signs of

20:33

life and an abseiling team

20:35

was deployed to examine the nearby cliffs.

20:39

By the time the Nutleys had finished speaking with

20:41

the police, the press had gathered

20:43

outside. Katherine and Helen

20:45

made their way to the seafront. It

20:48

was a calm day, a world away

20:50

from the stormy weather that had been battering the coast

20:52

not 36 hours earlier. It's

20:55

the South Beach, so this is where he

20:57

would have walked along. They put a mountain

21:00

rescue team over, so

21:02

there was ropes and then there's a crowd coming,

21:05

there's cameras and

21:07

I had a liaison officer

21:11

and he said, no, you don't say anything,

21:13

you don't speak to anybody. And you

21:15

could hear people saying, well, the

21:17

tide here, oh, he should be over

21:19

there, he could turn up, if he's in the water he'll

21:21

turn up over there.

21:22

Hearing

21:25

people openly speculate about where her

21:27

son's body might turn up was

21:29

a deeply unpleasant experience for Katherine,

21:32

but she understood the realities of the

21:34

search effort. On

21:36

top of the gale force winds, there

21:39

had been a high tide the Night James went

21:41

missing, so the theory that

21:43

in his vulnerable state he had been blown

21:45

into the sea and drowned wasn't

21:48

an outlandish one. By

21:50

the time Jeff arrived in Tenby on

21:52

the Tuesday, the bad weather had

21:55

once again braided its head.

21:58

Tell her how windy it was, because you

21:59

tried to open your car door, which

22:02

was very difficult, and then as soon as you

22:04

got out it slammed. So he

22:06

spoke to the police as well then, and

22:09

then he went home, and

22:12

I stayed with my friends who live in Pembrokeshire.

22:14

Helen and I, she took us, we sat

22:17

in the car park, and we just cried,

22:19

because we were leaving James behind. This

22:22

is how it felt.

22:25

The Nutleys crestfallen that

22:27

the search had so far produced no real

22:29

leads, returned to Caldecott,

22:32

where they were embraced by the local community.

22:34

A lot of friends

22:37

came and said, come on, come

22:39

up to presentation night, and

22:41

we'll put you in a corner, and it

22:44

sort of broke the ice. We came out,

22:47

people left us alone, I

22:50

think I'd won a few things from

22:52

the past year, and I think Helen had as well,

22:54

and they'd had something for James made as

22:56

well. But

22:58

as the weeks and months went by, that

23:00

initial swell of support started to

23:02

fall away. People came

23:04

to visit, so there was

23:07

lots of cups of tea, and

23:09

talk about it, and

23:11

then gradually less people came, and

23:14

then after that, we

23:17

went out, we thought life's gotta go

23:20

on, but people

23:22

would, in the village, they'd

23:25

sort of put their heads down

23:27

and walk the other side of the road, but

23:30

then it got better, and

23:32

we talk about it regularly. James's

23:35

sister took her siblings' disappearance particularly

23:38

hard. Helen was

23:40

not well at all, affected her

23:43

more so, I think, than

23:45

Jeffrey and I, because as she said, you've

23:47

got Dad. I always used to have James,

23:50

I've got no one now.

23:52

The police soon turned up to search the

23:54

Nutley family home.

23:56

They wanted stuff of James's,

23:58

like... a brush

24:01

with hair in, they

24:03

took our DNA, you know, with

24:05

the swabs. And Jeffrey jokingly

24:07

said he is ours, is he? The

24:10

investigators were leaning towards

24:12

the theory that one way or another,

24:15

James had ended up in the water, and

24:18

that there was a strong chance his body would

24:20

eventually be returned by the sea. Did

24:24

actually say his, if

24:27

he was in the water, his

24:29

body should turn up about

24:31

six weeks over, and they'd alerted

24:34

Devon and Cornwall Police.

24:37

But six weeks came and went, with

24:39

no sign of James. The

24:42

Nutleys made numerous trips to and from

24:44

Tenby over the next few months, each

24:47

time hoping for fresh insight

24:49

into their son's whereabouts, and

24:51

each time leaving, disappointed.

24:55

They'd found a shoe, and

24:57

then James was size 11, and this was

25:00

size eight. Then they found

25:02

a body, but it

25:04

was a woman, not

25:06

James.

25:08

Catherine held fast to her belief that

25:10

James hadn't ended up in the water. They

25:13

really thought, well, is he in

25:15

the sea? Who's to say? They

25:18

can't prove it one way or the other. I

25:20

mean, the cards that they found on the

25:22

beach. I mean, I threw a card in,

25:25

that didn't come back. You

25:26

know, we tried that. And they couldn't tell

25:28

me whether they actual cards, they

25:31

couldn't confirm whether they'd been in the water

25:33

or not. That's how they said it.

25:36

During the course of her interview with the police,

25:39

Catherine had mentioned that James fancied

25:41

the occasional flutter.

25:43

And they said, oh, well, he used to like a gamble.

25:46

He must have been in debt. You know, they just

25:48

formed an opinion.

25:51

I know he wasn't in debt because he had stacks of money.

25:59

but he was a far cry from

26:02

a problem gambler. All

26:04

of a sudden, this missing person

26:06

case pivoted into a murder inquiry.

26:15

A 42-year-old man by the name of Richard

26:17

Fairbrass was arrested after

26:20

allegedly beating up his girlfriend.

26:23

The man was known to them. He was the biggest

26:25

drug dealer in the area. They

26:28

would know that he'd been in Tembe,

26:30

but there was no intelligence to say that

26:32

he was there that night.

26:35

Whilst being questioned by police, Fairbrass,

26:38

a local of the town of Milford Haven, just

26:40

a 30-minute drive from Tembe,

26:43

made an extraordinary confession. He

26:46

told the police that he and his girlfriend

26:49

had crossed paths with James on

26:51

the night

26:52

he'd gone missing. They'd

26:54

met James while he was walking home

26:57

and

26:59

her partner, because James had looked at her

27:01

or something like this, he'd

27:03

beat James up on the

27:05

beach and he'd hit him

27:07

with his belt. I mean, James

27:09

couldn't defend himself. Fairbrass

27:12

said that his girlfriend had initiated

27:14

the attack and that he had joined in,

27:17

the pair of them ultimately

27:18

beating James to death together. He

27:21

went on to tell investigators how

27:23

he had hidden James's body in the back of his

27:25

car before driving to the southwest

27:28

coast of Pembrokeshire, where they

27:30

had disposed of him.

27:33

Thrown him off a place called Stack Rocks. They

27:36

actually sent divers down there, believe it or not.

27:39

And that cost them £19,000, so they told us.

27:43

After their search failed to turn up anything,

27:46

Fairbrass admitted that the entire

27:48

story had been a fabrication, a

27:51

twisted attempt at getting back at the partner

27:54

who had reported him

27:55

for assault. But

27:58

they had him for... for making

28:00

a false confession to James'

28:03

murder. The

28:05

times in his story didn't make sense and

28:07

he later pleaded guilty to trying to pervert

28:09

the course of justice. But

28:13

he was jailed for 27 months. The

28:18

experience had been a harrowing one for the

28:20

Nutleys. Led to believe

28:22

that their son had been murdered, watching

28:25

as search and rescue teams combed through

28:27

the waters at Stax Rocks to see

28:29

if his body would be unearthed,

28:31

only to learn that the whole thing had been

28:33

an elaborate lie was

28:35

almost too much to bear.

28:38

James has now been missing for

28:40

the better part of two decades

28:43

and the investigation has been gathering

28:45

dust for years.

28:48

We haven't heard from them in 10 years.

28:50

And when I did mention to

28:53

this fellow from ITV

28:55

Wales, we did the Left

28:57

Behind.

28:58

He was actually filming in Tenby

29:02

with us

29:03

and two policemen came along,

29:05

didn't know anything about it.

29:08

I mean, it is what, coming up 18

29:10

and a half years now.

29:12

Certain people in Tenby knew that James

29:14

had gone missing,

29:16

but no.

29:22

Catherine and Geoff make the two hour

29:24

drive to Tenby every year on

29:27

James' birthday and again on the

29:29

anniversary of his disappearance. We

29:33

go into the gilt hour because

29:35

the manager or the owner is still

29:37

there.

29:39

I mean, it went in lockdown when we couldn't

29:41

go anywhere. They actually

29:43

phoned us to say, would you like us to

29:45

put a tribute out for you? Which

29:47

is what they did, which was wonderful. Thought

29:50

it was absolutely lovely.

29:54

They make their way to the promenade where

29:57

James was last seen. There.

29:59

They place a bouquet of flowers, along

30:02

with a note, explaining who their

30:04

son is and asking anyone

30:06

with information to come forward.

30:09

And it might jog someone's memory,

30:11

but other than that, like the

30:14

publicity has sort of died down.

30:17

Every now and again,

30:18

Catherine finds herself searching the National

30:20

Crime Agency's database of unidentified

30:23

bodies.

30:25

So I always have a little look at that, just

30:27

to see, and just

30:29

think and look at it and think, no, no,

30:32

no. But

30:34

then, do I want to know? Helen

30:37

would like closure, that's the word

30:39

the police use. But

30:43

yeah, my friend, she always told

30:45

me he wasn't in the sea. And that's

30:47

what I'd like to believe. For

30:49

the Nutleys, life has moved on

30:52

to some extent, because it has

30:54

to. And we're lucky

30:56

now that Helen, although

30:58

not married, has a partner. And we

31:00

have two grandchildren. So they

31:04

fill the void. But they'll never give

31:06

up on the idea that they'll eventually

31:08

hear a knock on the door and

31:10

open it to a familiar

31:12

and much-missed face. You

31:15

know, I just feel that James will hopefully

31:18

turn up one day. That's the way I like to think about it.

31:21

Until someone's told me different.

31:24

In many cases, it takes just

31:26

one piece of information to lead

31:29

police or family to the answers

31:31

they crave. If you

31:33

know what happened to James, or you

31:35

remember seeing someone like him on

31:37

October the 24th, 2004, your information could be vital.

31:44

Even if you've never heard of James Nutley before,

31:47

you still could help. Visit

31:50

our website, themissingpodcast.org,

31:53

where you'll find more information on this

31:55

and every other case we've featured

31:57

on this podcast. There.

31:59

you can join an online movement, one

32:02

dedicated to supporting the investigations

32:05

for all the cases we've covered, including

32:07

the one you're listening

32:08

to right now.

32:11

Since the launch of the Missing podcast,

32:13

over 300 volunteers have joined

32:15

community investigation teams led by

32:18

Locate International. In

32:20

the UK alone, there are over 12,000 long-term

32:24

missing and unidentified people.

32:27

To support Locate's efforts and

32:30

to learn more about the vital work they

32:32

do, visit Locate.International

32:35

where you can join the mission to help

32:38

locate the missing.

32:40

The

32:40

series is also made in collaboration

32:42

with the charity Missing People, who

32:44

work tirelessly to support the families

32:47

of the missing. Their

32:49

helpline is open to offer support and

32:51

advice if you've been affected by

32:53

anything in this episode. You

32:56

can reach them by calling or texting or

33:02

by emailing them at

33:11

We

33:11

cannot say this enough, it takes

33:13

just one person with the right

33:15

information to solve any of

33:17

the cases in this series. The

33:20

Nutleys hope that the information will soon

33:22

arrive to solve this

33:24

one. The

33:25

Missing is a podcast from Podomo

33:28

and What's the Story Sounds. It's

33:30

hosted by me, Pandora Sykes. The

33:33

episodes are researched and produced by Jacka

33:35

Kennedy. The executive producers

33:37

for Podomo are Jake Chudnow and

33:39

Matt White, and the executive

33:41

producers for What's the Story Sounds are

33:44

Darrell Brown and Sophie Ellis.