The mother of missing teenager, Damien Nettles, confirms this week that she’s submitted another complaint to Hampshire Constabulary.
Damien went missing 20 years ago on 2 November 1996 after a night out in Cowes. His family believe he was killed, but his body has never been found and no-one charged with his death.
Complaint against Hampshire police
Valerie Nettles explained this week that her complaint relates to Hampshire Constabulary’s handling of the case, loss of evidence and suspects in possession of witness statements.
The latter was revealed during the documentary mini-series, created by Bronagh Walsh and Alys Harte for the BBC, Unsolved: The Boy who disappeared.
In 2012, a total of eight people were arrested and questioned on suspicion of being involved in the possible murder of Damien Nettles, but all were released without charge due to “insufficient evidence”.
Petition for extra Police funding
There are currently two online petitions appealing for support with Damien’s case. The first is calling for extra funds to be released to the police for Operation Ridgewood (that’s Damien’s Case).
This petition is just short of 4,000 signatures and needs a boost of at least 6,000 signatures before it closes on 9th February 2017.
At 10,000 signatures, the government will be forced to respond to the petition.
Damien’s Law
The second petition calls for the Prime Minister to introduce ‘Damien’s Law’ – where missing young male cases are treated equally to young girls.
It’s a fairly new petition, but at time of publishing had only attracted around 300 signatures.
The online petition explains that young males continue to go under the radar in missing person cases. She calls for a number of changes to be made to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Manual of Guidance.
The Nettles family appeal for as many people as possible to sign and share these petitions with friends and family.
