Family of missing Samuel Smith, 66, from York launch volunteer search in Skipton

Samuel Smith, 66, from Colne, has not been seen since 2 March near a caravan park in Skipton. His daughters describe the two-week wait as "unbearable".

Family of missing York man lead public search near Skipton caravan park

The daughters of a 66-year-old man who vanished in North Yorkshire nearly two weeks ago are leading a volunteer search party on Saturday, bbc.co.uk reports.

Samuel Smith, from Colne in Lancashire, was last seen on 2 March just after 12:00 GMT at the entrance of Tarn House Holiday Park in Skipton. CCTV footage captured him wearing black trousers, a black coat and what may have been a leather jacket.

His daughter Zarah described the family's ordeal as "unbearable". "It's just unbearable not knowing where he is, where he could have gone, and the fact that nobody seems to have seen him in coming up for two weeks," she said.

Zarah added that her father played a central role in family life. "He takes my children to and from school, he's very involved and very family orientated," she said. She also noted that Smith had driven her to work on the morning he went missing and appeared to be his "normal self", with no signs that anything was amiss.

Zarah and her sister Charlotte have asked volunteers to gather at the caravan park where their father was last seen. The search area is described as vast, and the sisters have said they are relying on Google Maps to navigate unfamiliar terrain.

"With it being such a vast area, it's primarily either been the police or me and my sister out looking and it is so much area to cover," Zarah said. "Anyone who's got just that little bit of free time to come and help us on the searches, it'd mean more than we can express."

North Yorkshire Police said it had allocated extensive resources to the search, including CCTV reviews and house-to-house inquiries. Drones and a police helicopter have also been deployed.

Critical Incident Inspector Jessica Errington urged the local community to remain vigilant and made a direct appeal to landowners. "I would also like to make a direct appeal to farmers and landowners to check any outbuildings, barns, sheds and open land for signs of Samuel or any indication that he may have been there," she said.

Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)