'We've got nothing - we've got no trace of him, no proof where he is. He's just gone'

Seven months into the UK's first lockdown, James Miller was not coping well. Restrictions meant watching his beloved Warrington Wolves rugby league team and sharing a pint with mates down the pub were off the table.

The talented mechanic was a key worker so he grafted, and came home, on repeat. In a bid to handle how Covid surpressed all our lives he would go on long rides on his bicycle. But a trail of heartache in his personal life was amplified at Christmas time.

On December 22, 2020, he was back living in the family home in Latchford, Warrington. He had moved back in October that year after the end of his marriage. He was scarred too by the fact that he had not seen his daughter, Ebony, from a different relationship for ten years.

Join our WhatsAp p Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link.

That night he had a minor tiff with his mother. He had been drinking beer, was intoxicated, and playing his music loud. Being considerate for the neighbours and pointing out that James had work the next morning, his mum asked him to turn it down.

James' sister, Emma, said in an interview for the podcast, The Missing: "So mum, being a mum, had told James to turn his music down. James then decided no, because he was just being a child and rebelling against your mother.

"And he just said no… And then so mum left it, but then went back and said, you know, come on, you've got work in the morning, time to turn your music down.

"Unfortunately, James was just like, no, not doing it. And that was really it. Mum went to bed and then she heard the door go, looked out and just saw James walking away… just thinking, oh, maybe he's gone for a fag, or, you know, gone to cool down, because obviously he turned his music