Day 9 - Anthony Stammers

people in December. Today we're going to be exploring the disappearance of twenty seven year old Anthony Stammers in Colchester in twenty twelve. His disappearance came out of the blue for his family, who have been searching for him ever since, and their work to support other families of the missing has been a lifeline for some. This episode is about a missing person and so does not contain any descriptions

of violence, but listener discretion is always advised. Twenty seven year old Anthony Stammers has been described by his family as completely unique and someone who led his life the way that he wanted to live it. His brother has described him as living his life by his own sheet of music and was very respected for it. Antony had an eclectic taste in both film and music, and was known as a talented musician. He was in a band which had played concerts in aid of Amnesty International. He

enjoyed reading, writing, and was sensitive. He loved to help others and cared about others immensely. He had grown up in Colchester with his older sister Kathy and brother James, as well as his mum Julie and his dad Rob. Anthony was close to his family and his siblings, with his sister being described as a mini mother to him. He was well liked, had a great sense of humor, and was known to be easy going. His family knew him to be a fun but responsible person who they

loved to be around. During May twenty twelve, the family were going through some turmoil and grief. Antony's grandfather had sadly passed away and the funeral had been arranged for Monday, May the twenty eighth, twenty twelve at Colchester Crematorium. The date had been set and the family were prepared to attend That Monday morning, Antony told his mum Julie that he was going to spend that night in London with friends, but would be back in Colchester the next morning ready

for the funeral. He then left his home in mile End Road in Colchester at around ten am on Sunday, May the twenty seventh. Reports differ on when Antony next contacted his family. However, the Essex Police website states that he text his mom at around eleven am, just an hour after he left the home. Other sources say seven pm. The police source appears to be the most credible, so I will go with that one. Anthony texted his mom Julie and asked if she would prepare his trousers for

him ready for the funeral the next day. We do know that after leaving his home on mile End Road, someone withdrew one hundred and forty pounds from Antony's bank account at a nearby petrol station machine. After this, Anthony's family believed that he had been on his way to visit his friends in London, as he had said that he was going to do and that they would see him the next day. Monday, May the twenty eighth came around and his family waited for him to come home

to attend the funeral. Antony, however, did not turn up to do the family all went to the funeral at Colchester Crematorium. However, Antony was not in attendance. The fact that he had not come to his granddad's funeral was an immediate huge red flag and was something that Antony just would not have done. His family were worried from the outset, and they decided to immediately file a missing

person report to Essex Police. He was quickly apparent to those that were working on this case that something wasn't right, and the sheer fact that Antony hadn't turned up for the funeral was an indication that something was wrong. Police began looking into Antony's life and his movements to establish what could have possibly happened to him and where he

could be. Police learned that Antony had been treated for depression in the past, and while this was the case, he was still a responsible person who was close to his family and kept in touch with them regularly. The fact that he may have been suffering with grief due to his grandfather's funeral was of course also taken into account and may have been affecting his state of mind during that time. Antony was obviously also an adult and could choose not to turn up if he didn't want to.

Despite this, Antony's family and the police agreed that his disappearance was out of character. They discovered that after the transaction that was made at the cash machine at eleven a m they didn't have record of where Antony went after that or any of his movements. It would turn out that they also did not know if it was even Antony that took the money out of the machine. They couldn't find any CCTV that would corroborate this transaction and so they couldn't see if it was Antony or

it was someone else using Antony's card. The police have since said that they have no reason to believe that it was anyone else other than him. The strange thing was was that police couldn't actually find Antony on any CCTV from the area at all. They weren't able to find any images of Antony and Colchester on his journey

to see his friends in London. Detective Superintendent Stephen Jennings from Essex Police stated, we did a lot of work around CCTV and surprisingly there wasn't a single image of Antony and we trialed hours and hours of footage both in and around the Colchester area. It's really difficult to know what's actually happened, and we do absolutely keep an open mind. Trying to establish where Antony could have gone or what could have happened to him was proving extremely difficult.

Given that there really were no leeds to go on. Without CCTV witnesses or any other paper trail, it was tough to investigate. Police were able to discover that the withdrawal of one hundred and forty pounds was the last transaction that was made on Antony's bank account. This in itself raised alarm bells as if Antony had decided to just walk away from his life, where had he gone and what was he living on? A description of him

was distributed to the public. He was described as white, five feet ten inches tall, of medium build, with short, dark brown hair, although he may now have longer hair or changed its color. He could also now have a beard. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a red and blue check shirt, carrying a black satchel, and may have been wearing a black New York Yankees baseball cap and

beige jacket. Antony's family were distraught by the news that he had disappeared and the whole family worked together and with police to try and locate him. Widespread searches were done of the local area and local people were spoken to and appeals were made. Despite all of these appeals and the search for information, police could not find any information about his whereabouts or what had happened. It seemed

as though Antony had just disappeared into thin air. In the months and years that followed his disappearance, his family continued to appeal for information and worked with police. However, little information about Anthony was reported. There were several potential sightings of him over the years. These ranged from sightings in Colchester itself, in Staffordshire, Birmingham, Doncaster and London. However,

it appears that none of these were ever corroborated. Ten years after Anthony disappeared, in twenty twenty two, his family spoke to the press and the police once again did a large appeal for information. His case was featured on a Channel five program. Anthony's mum duly stated, every day we think about Anthony. There's not a minute that goes by we don't think about him and what has happened

to him. If you have any tiny little bit of information that you think is significant, or you know Antony and know where he is, please just contact us and help. The police will take into account any little piece of information and investigate. And to Antony, if he's watching, we

love you so much and miss you every day. We understand it's difficult when you've been away for a long while to reconnect again, but we're waiting to welcome you back into our lives again, and that's all we want to have you back and to give you a great big hug. Antony's dad, Rob spoke about feeling like he had a duel existence due to Antony's disappearance, saying, on the one hand, we know we have to live normal life.

There are things to do and bills to pay, and we have two other children who deserve to live their lives. That's are the full And on the other hand, we know that Antony is missing and the pain that goes

alongside that can rear its head at any time. Antony's parents wanted to do what they could to help raise awareness of Antony's disappearance, but that of all families of missing people, they have worked with the charity Missing People, as well as his mom and dad and sister Kathy taking part in walking five kilometers a day for every year that he has been missing. In an effort to further raise awareness, Antony's brother James, appeared on Channel four's

sas Who Dares Wins. He explained, my primary reason for going in there was to raise awareness and in the hope that someone somewhere knows of his whereabouts lets him know, or he may have even find out about me being on there and I get to say these things to the nation. He's missed, He's loved by everyone that knows him. His family have been dedicated to keeping Antony's memory alive, but also to support other families of missing people to

get the support that they need. In June twenty twenty three, Antony's parents were present when Missing People opened a new garden to represent all of the missing people and their families that they supported. Antony's parents stated, I'm so proud of what the family and charity members have done in creating this garden for everyone. I'm hoping that all the families who come, and perhaps people who have gone missing, will love it just as much as we do. Everything

has a meaning in the garden. There is a rocky path, water is a place of reflection and the cause of the charity, which are black and pink. The darker planting reflects the journey we have all been on, and the lighter meadow reflects our enjoyment of gardening, which helps people with mental health problems. In general. I enjoy gardening and so does my husband and daughter. Is give us a

sense of calm. It's clear that Antony's parents are dedicated to finding out what happened to him, and they're hopeful that they will find some evidence as to what happened. Although twelve years has now passed since his disappearance, there is hope that someone out there knows what happened to Anthony Stammers on May twenty seventh, twenty twelve, and could provide this loving and dedicated family the answers that they

so desperately need. If you know anything about the disappearance of Anthony Stammers, please contact police on one oh one our Missing People via their website, which will be linked in the show notes. Thank you for listening to November's bonus episode and listening for Decembers. As always, thank you for all your support. I really appreciate it. I'm Caprice and this has been unseen. She F