My dad vanished the day before Nicola Bulley disappeared – I know what the family is going through
THE son of a farmer missing for almost three weeks has told Nicola Bulley’s heartbroken children: “I know what you’re going through.”
Dorset dad-of-one Steven Clarke was last seen on January 26 – the day before mum-of-two Nicola vanished.
The former farmer’s son Phill Way told The Sun: “I can really sympathise with Nicola’s family.
“I feel really sorry for their kids.
“Until you’ve been in the situation yourself it’s impossible to understand how difficult this is, so my heart goes out to them.”
He added: “I don’t want this for anyone’s family.”
The ex-farmer, 54, was last spotted on camera on Bell’s Orchard Lane in Wareham, Dorset – just two minutes from his home – at 11.23am.
Phill, 31, said: “I got a phone call from one of his friends saying they hadn’t heard from him.
“He’s got very bad mobility issues.
“The only traces we’ve had is some CCTV from a shop and footage from someone’s home doorbell very near to where he lives.”
An emotional Phill added: “The days get longer. The nights get colder. It’s getting really hard now.”
Steven, who has been married to partner Theresa, 58, for 22 years, is described as 5ft 10in tall, of slim build, with brown hair.
He often uses a gold-coloured walking stick following a motorbike accident 20 years ago.
The Dorset native also suffers from Huntington’s disease – a condition that damages nerve cells in the brain – which has hampered his mobility.
Ground maintenance manager Phill said: “We want him to come home safe – but most of all I just need to know what’s happened.
“He would have been over three weeks without medication.
“There are seven, eight, nine pills a day that he needs.
“It sounds horrible but he has to take them to help his condition.
“He isn’t the sort of person to just disappear like this.
“There have been no sightings of him at all – it feels like he’s just totally vanished.
“My mum gets really emotional when we talk about it to her.”
‘BRING THEM HOME’
Phill added: “We have to keep getting the word out.
“We are doing all we can do to try and bring him home.”
Dorset Police – assisted by drones, dogs and fire and rescue services – have no main hypothesis on the disappearance.
But Phill said officers had warned that his dad may have left the county.
Cops have searched over 400 homes in an effort to locate the father.
A grassroots search effort has been set up by locals.
Phill said his thoughts were with Nicola’s distraught partner Paul Ansell, 44, who said in a TV interview on Friday: “We just have to find her.”
Paul told Channel 5’s Dan Walker that the mum would never give up on her daughters, six and nine.
He said: “She wouldn’t give up on anybody. And we are not gonna ever give up on her, we’re gonna find her.”
Until you’ve been in the situation yourself it’s impossible to understand how difficult this is.
Phill Way
Mortgage adviser Nicola, 45, went missing the morning after Steven, on January 27, whilst on a dog walk in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.
Police revealed yesterday that she had “significant issues with alcohol” as a result of menopause.
Lancashire Police also said they’d been called to the family’s home after “a report of concern for welfare” on January 10.
These factors, identified by her partner Paul Ansell, meant she was classified as a high risk missing person.
Her family today told how she had suffered “significant” side effects brought on by the perimenopause, including brain fog and restless sleep.
She was taking HRT to help with her symptoms but subsequently came off the medication after experiencing intense headaches, relatives said.
Phill added: “I hope she’s found safe and well and my dad is too.”
Last week Chief Inspector David Parr, of Dorset Police said: “We are continuing to do everything we can to locate Steven and I would echo the family’s appeal for anyone with information that might assist our enquiries to please come forward.
“I would again ask any motorists who were travelling in the Wareham area after around 11.30am on January 26, 2023, to please check any dashcam footage for any sightings of Steven.
“Also, I would urge residents in the vicinity to please check their sheds or outbuildings for anything that might provide information relating to Steven’s whereabouts.”
Lancashire Police also vowed to continue their hunt.
A spokesperson for the force said: “As we approach the three-week anniversary of her going missing, we remain committed to doing everything we can to find her.”