Sister's 'horrible feeling' after man didn't turn up for work after night out
James Miller disappeared after he was last seen on CCTV walking down a street and there has been no trace of him since
Emma Miller with her elder brother James Miller who has been missing for four years
(Image: Emma Miller)
The sister of a man who went missing more than four years ago said she's "breaking inside" as her family continues searching for answers. On the evening of Tuesday, December 22, 2020, James Miller departed his home in Slater Street in Latchford, Warrington, where he lived with his mother.
The then 37-year-old father was captured on CCTV shortly afterwards strolling casually along the same street, carrying nothing except his wallet. That blurry footage would mark the final sighting of him. The story draws parallels with that of Jack O'Sulivan who went out for drinks, and hasn't returned home in the 18 months since.
Despite countless appeals, James, who was employed as a car mechanic, has never been located, reports the Liverpool Echo. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
Emma Miller shared several happy memories with her brother
(Image: Emma Miller)
Discussing her brother, Emma Miller, 35, also from Latchford, told the ECHO: "We spent a lot of time going the rugby together, going to Wembley, watching Warrington Wolves.
"He was a big Warrington Wolves fan. He supported Bolton FC and I did go to football as well. They are quite good memories that we had together.
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"Then we started taking my youngest son as well, which was fantastic. We spent a lot of weekends together, especially as we got older.
"He was one of a kind. Everyone who met him loved him. He was a character. He was quiet as well, but once you got to know him, or once he felt comfortable and would open up to you.
"He interacted with everyone, especially in his local pub. They all loved him to pieces and they all treated him like family."
Prior to his disappearance, Emma hadn't observed anything out of the ordinary regarding James's behaviour as she explained he "always struggled around Christmas time anyway".
However, Emma sensed something was seriously amiss on the morning of December 23, a few hours after James was last seen.
She recalled: "Mum said to me, James went out last night. The weather wasn't great at the time, we had snow, ice and everything. It had been raining that night as well.
"I thought it was a bit weird, he's probably just gone to my grandma's or gone to work. I rang grandma and he wasn't there.
"Then it was late afternoon and I was at my sister's house. I just said, I've got this horrible feeling. No matter what James always went to work, even if he'd had a rough night, if he'd had a heavy night partying, he'd always go to work.
"When one of his work colleagues told me hadn't turned up at work, I just thought, this is a red flag and that's when I rang the police."
Despite the police investigation and numerous media appeals, James has not been seen since, leaving the family in a state of uncertainty.
Emma said: "I think the hardest part is that you live in limbo. When someone dies, even if the circumstances are really extreme, you know the person's dead and you know that you can grieve for the person, as much as it breaks your heart.
"But when it's a missing person, you don't know where that person is, what's happened to that person. You don't know if they're out living their best life or if they're hiding away.
"I think it's the unknown that is the hardest in the whole of this situation. It's been four years, eight months now and not one single day or minute goes by that it's not in our mind, but it's mad that we have to carry on with our lives.
"People might think you'll get on but you don't because inside you're breaking, you just have no answers at all."
Emma revealed that whilst potential sightings or leads had emerged, none had resulted in any major breakthroughs, though she remained hopeful that James was still alive.
She said: "I believe he's out there because, if not, I would have something by now. We just hold on to hope. We just hope that he is okay, that he is safe, that he's living his best life."
Anyone with information is urged to contact Cheshire Constabulary on 101 or via www.cheshire.police.uk/tell-us, quoting IML 880492.
You can also contact the Missing People organisation here, quoting reference number 21-000068.
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