MEMBERS of the public have formed search parties in a bid to find a 93-year-old man who have been missing from Earley since Thursday evening.
Sidney Box – also known as Don or Donald – was last seen around 8.20pm on Silverdale Road in Earley.
Thames Valley Police and Berkshire Search and Rescue have been leading efforts to find him, but this morning a group of concerned residents also undertook their own search.
Superintendent Adrian Hall said: “Sidney’s disappearance is completely out of character, and naturally, given the passage of time, the weather conditions, and the clothing he was wearing, we and his family are extremely concerned for his wellbeing.
“Volunteers from the Berkshire Lowland Search & Rescue team have been supporting officers and our specialist search team, along with Police Drones in the search.”
Sidney is described as around 5ft 5ins tall with a slim build. He was last seen wearing a black/dark grey dressing gown with thin red stripes running horizontally, and grey trousers.
It is possible he is not wearing shoes.
He is known to walk with a slight limp.
Sup Hall said: “Leaflet drops and house to house enquiries have been ongoing in the local area, including Silverdale Road, Kenton Road, Raggleswood Close and we have been conducting a focused and thorough search of the Maiden Erlegh Nature Reserve.
“We have no information that suggests that he would have left the area, although we do know he was a former GWR rail worker.
“Although aware that were rail strikes, I would extend my appeal to anybody that have been in or near to local train stations to please alert us to any possible sightings.”
He added: “It remains our top priority to locate Sidney safely, and so I would again appeal to anybody who believes that they have seen him to get in touch with Thames Valley Police urgently, by calling us on 999, quoting reference number 513 of 6th January.
“You can also report sightings via our dedicated missing persons portal, which is monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“It may be that Sidney has taken shelter from the weather, and so I would again appeal to anybody in the local area to please check outbuildings and parked cars.
“I would also ask anybody who was in the Wilderness Road area around 8.10am on Friday (6/1) or Ryhill Way around 7pm also on Friday to please check dash-cam and CCTV and get in touch if you think you have any footage or images of Sidney.
“Despite all of our efforts so far, and calls from members of the public, we have had no confirmed sightings of Sidney since his disappearance.
“Sidney’s family are local to Earley, and they continued to be supported by officers.
“We will continue to maximise all available resources into our search for Sidney, and would re-iterate that any sightings or information relating to his disappearance should be given to Thames Valley Police.”
