'My dad's tragic last two words before vanishing haunt me - I miss him so much'
Speaking to the Mirror for Father's Day, Doug Mills' children and partner have pleaded for their dad to come home after he vanished in January
"I love you daddy," says five-year-old Dottie when asked what she would say to him if he was with her on Father's Day.
Her eight-year-old sister April holds onto her dad's cap and jumper and his eldest daughter from a previous relationship Chanel, 18, sobs "we miss you so much". Chanel's brother Dougie, 21 - Doug's eldest - is too distraught to even speak to The Mirror.
It's heartbreaking speaking to the family members left grieving when a loved one goes missing, especially when it's their dad and everywhere you turn there are reminders that it's Father's Day soon.
Doug Mills, 44, vanished from Uxbridge on January 25, leaving the family home without a jacket or his keys - he now hasn't been seen for almost six months.
The day he disappeared his devoted partner of 18 years, Adrienne Sparkle, 37, came home to an empty house with the back door wide open. "He just vanished,' Adrienne tells The Mirror. 'I noticed the back door was open and his cigs were there - so I called upstairs thinking maybe he was having a lie down.'
'He didn't answer so I checked out the back because the door was open,' she recalls. 'He wasn't out there either so I started to panic. "I remembered him mentioning that the lads from work may be going to the pub so I rang and messaged him but nothing, so I called his mum who also hadn't heard from him.
"It was out of character for him to go out without saying where he was going and he hadn't taken his coat although it was really cold outside,' she adds. 'He loved to be warm and would be the first to switch the heating on when he came in the door - and his cigs and keys were still on the side so I knew something wasn't quite right.'
There were no tell-tale signs that Doug planned to disappear and everything seemed normal that cold January day when he vanished without a trace. Adrienne says he didn't go out socialising much as he loved nothing more than being at home with his family and his kids.
"That's what makes this whole thing so shocking and hard to deal with,' she explains. 'My mind has been playing through every possible scenario - had he got into some sort of trouble I wasn't aware of? Did he have some sort of mental breakdown and leave? He had confessed in the last year that he was feeling down and money was a bit sparse, was it too much pressure for him as the main breadwinner? Could he have been more depressed than he let on? Surely, if he'd had some sort of breakdown he would have snapped out of it by now?'
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She tells me how her mind keeps flipping from one scenario to another, but how she thought things were beginning to look up as her partner was starting to get more work coming in. But she says her heart tells her he wouldn't stay away from his family on purpose for this long.
'Doug's a real family man, a great dad,' Adrienne says. 'The girls adore him - he loves being silly with them and joking around. He also has a lot of time for his family, his mum, his sister - him staying away for this long - it just doesn't make sense.'
Doug's ex partner Lisa King, 42, agrees with Adrienne and is worried because it's unlike Doug not to see his kids. Her daughter Chanel says she's really struggling because she's missing having her doting dad in her life. 'No matter what and when I needed him he'd always be there for me and my siblings - I'm struggling at the minute not having him around,' she says.
'The last thing my dad said to me was 'be safe' when we went to my cousin's 18th birthday party. If he's watching this I'd like to tell him to just come home. The past few months I've had so much going on and him not being here really hurts. We all miss him so much.'
Her brother Dougie came along to the Mirror's Father's Day photoshoot in London but had to leave because he couldn't bear the pain of speaking about his missing dad. Police enquiries into Doug's disappearance have turned up nothing but one potential sighting came from a lady who thinks she may have seen him the Tuesday morning after he went missing.
'A lady contacted me on Facebook messenger after seeing one of the missing posters,' Adrienne remembers. 'She was walking her dog at around six in the morning - it was rainy, dark and cold and she saw a guy dressed in dark clothing like Doug was when we last saw him. She thought it was strange that he wasn't jogging and didn't have a dog with him and that he wasn't wearing a jacket even though it was so cold.'
Douglas is of slim build with a shaved head and was last seen wearing dark clothing and black combat bottoms. The Metropolitan Police told The Mirror they have conducted searches, shared CCTV footage of him buying cigarettes and have asked the public for information.
'Can you help us find missing 44-year-old Douglas who was last seen at his home in #Uxbridge on Saturday 25 January,' a spokesperson said. 'We are concerned for his welfare. If you have seen him or know where he is please call 101 ref: 01/7096356/25 or 999 for an immediate sighting.'
The charity Missing People has been helping the family get through the last few months. Chantal Korz said: 'Douglas has been missing since January, and we are very concerned for his safety and wellbeing. At Missing People, our thoughts are with his family, and we will continue to be here to support them for as long as they need us.
'We urge anyone with information – no matter how small – to come forward. It could be the vital piece that helps bring Douglas home. And to Douglas – if you see this, please know that you are not alone. Our team is here for you, whenever you're ready. You can contact us confidentially and free, at any time, by calling or texting 116 000. We're here to listen and help in any way we can.'
Meanwhile, his partner Adriene says she doesn't know how to carry on without him. 'If you're listening, Doug I need you home. I love you and I miss you - I wish I'd told you how much you mean to me. We all need you and love you. This is the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with. I just don't know how to carry on without you, please come home to us.'
• The Mirror is using its platform to launch Missed – a campaign to shine a light on underrepresented public-facing missing persons in the UK via a live interactive map, in collaboration with Missing People Charity. Because every missing person, no matter their background or circumstances, is someone's loved one. And they are always Missed.
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