COLD CASES: WHAT HAPPENED TO DANIEL ENTWISTLE?

I've been wanting to start a new series on my blog for a while now surrounding cold cases which are yet to be solved. Some of these have really interesting theories surrounding them but the main idea behind this series is to raise awareness of the cases yet to be solved, of which there are A LOT, as it is really sad that their families and loved ones still don't have closure on their situations.

So let's jump right in with the missing person's case of Daniel Entwistle. 
Daniel, a 7-year old boy from Great Yarmouth, went missing from his home at Copperfield Avenue on Saturday the 3rd of May, 2003 which was the May bank holiday weekend. He had gone out on his red BMX bike in the day and then came home and asked for some money to get some sweets before going back out. His parents, Paula and David Entwistle, became concerned when he did not return home for tea later that evening when they began searching for him.

Daniel was identified on a CCTV image at 5:05pm at the local convenience store near his home called Blencowes. He was then thought to be seen on a nearby CCTV camera riding along on his bike. This was the only proven sighting of Daniel since he left his home earlier that day although there have been other possible sightings - he was possibly seen around 3:30pm that day playing with a group of other boys near the river at Trinity Quay. In the early hours of the next morning, Daniels' red BMX was found abandoned near the river as seen in the image of the area surrounding his home to the left.

There have been no clues or sightings of Daniel since this time which is really sad and makes this case really hard to pursue due to the lack of leads, espcially due to the lack of funds and coverage of his story. The media stopped reporting on him only a few days after he went missing and the case was closed only 3 months later.
He was last seen wearing a blue Adidas t-shirt, blue jogging bottoms and grey trainers and is described as being of pale complexion, 3' 2" with light brown hair and slim build when he disappeared.

Theories surrounding his disappearance

The first theory as to how Daniel disappeared is that he simply ran away. Some people, including one of his teachers, believes that this could be a possibility as Daniel had ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). However, it is unusual for children even with this disorder to go for a long amount of time. It may be the case that he did run away and got into some trouble which links to the next theory.

This next theory states that Daniel could have been abducted which I think it the usual theory people jump to in missing children's cases and is of course very possible. With a child as small and young as Daniel, it seems that it would be easy to snatch him away, especially if he was alone around the area he lived.

Another theory states that he may have fallen into the river Yare off the harbour wall where he bike was found propped up and, if this had been the case, he would have experienced some trouble as he was not able to swim. However, there have been extensive searches in this river using various types of equipment and nothing has been found and no remains have ever swept up in the long time since his disappearance. In terms of the police, this seems to be the theory that they believe is most likely and the one that I also think is most likely as he may have been swept out to sea which is maybe why he has never been found.

Hopefully one day Daniel is found and his family can have some closure. Daniel's father actually died a few years ago which is really sad as he will never know what happened to him. I'll leave below the contact details of the Norfolk Police force who deal with any information people may have which can contribute to the case.

Thank you for reading as always, hopefully my writer's block has now ended.

Holly Amber X

Senior Investigating Officer: Detective Inspector Andy Guy
Cold Case manager: Mr Tony Deacon
Contact Tel: 01953424520
Email: coldcaseteam@norfolk.pnn.police.uk
Alternatively, you can contact crime stoppers anonymously on 0800555111

Disclaimer: I will try to present the information as factually as possible and use information which I have found from credible websites/sources. In presenting the theories, these are merely speculation and do not always reflect my personal opinion. The main aim of this series is to raise awareness of cold cases and get people interested in speaking about them and keeping the story alive.