Desperate search continues for man, 77, missing for more than two weeks

A desperate search is continuing to find a 77-year-old man who has now been missing for more than two weeks.

Brian Blakeman was last seen at his home in Skelmersdale, near Wigan, on Tuesday, December 5. Police said previously the pensioner is understood to have left his home after eating breakfast.

When his partner returned home he was no longer there. 'Hundreds of police' have been involved in the search for him since he went missing, with hours of CCTV being reviewed.

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Hundreds of homes have been visited and extensive searches of parks, woodlands and rural areas, including at Beacon Country Park which is around two thirds of a mile from Brian's home, have been carried out. Underwater teams have been involved as well as firefighters and mountain rescue teams.

Brian was last seen wearing a blue fleece jacket with an Everton FC badge on, along with jeans and trainers. In a statement issued yesterday (Tuesday), Skelmersdale Police said officers said their priority remained on finding him.

They said his family are being supported as the urgent search continues. In full, the statement said: "Afternoon all.

"We wanted to give you an update in our search for missing Brian Blakeman. We know lots of you have been asking for updates, and whilst we want to be as responsive as possible, our priority is focusing on finding Brian.

"Brian, 77, is still missing and we’re continuing our search to find him. Our officers are still conducting enquiries to find Brian and we are reviewing extensive