Mother of man missing since 2007 wants ‘peace' after unidentified remains found

Independent

21-05-2025

The mother of a man who went missing in 2007 has said she is 'hoping for some peace' after human remains were found close to where he disappeared.
Terry McSpadden, a then 24-year-old father of two, was last seen on March 2 of that year after spending the evening in the Locomotive pub in Wisbech, close to the Norfolk- Cambridgeshire border.
On Sunday morning, police were called to Lynn Road, Walton Highway, in Wisbech after partial human remains were found by a passer-by.
A Norfolk Police spokesperson said: 'Officers are exploring a number of lines of inquiry.
'The cordon is still in place on Lynn Road and will remain for some time.'
Helen Thrower, Mr McSpadden's mother, confirmed that police had contacted the family about the find.
She said: 'It's too early to say whether it's Terry or not.
'Me and other people whose family members are missing, we're hoping for some peace. Until we get some identification, we can't know.'
Cold case detectives launched a fresh appeal for information about the 24-year-old's disappearance, which was initially treated as a missing person's case but was later considered a murder case, in February this year.
Mr McSpadden's body was never found and his hand-painted black mountain bike, which he used for local transport, was never recovered.
A man was charged with murder in 2011 but the case against him was dismissed in court.
Later reviews of the case and a 2014 CrimeStoppers appeal with a £5,000 reward did not generate further significant information.
Andy Guy, Norfolk Police's cold case manager, said about the fresh appeal: 'Terry's family including his mother and two children have never had closure.
'They have no idea of where he is, what happened to him, or why.
'They have lived with this grief and uncertainty for 18 years.
'While this is a long time ago I have no doubt there are people out there who do know, or suspect, what happened to Terry.
'I understand that people may not have wished to engage with the police in 2007 but having knowledge of what happened to Terry may lay heavy on someone's conscience and for Terry, his mother, and children now would be the time to disclose that information.
'Terry was an attentive and loving father which makes any hypothesis that he simply upped and left the area all the more unlikely and there has been no proof of life after 2 March 2007.'