TODAY, December 30, marks one decade since a Caerphilly borough man was last seen - and his family are still no closer to getting the truth.
Kyle Vaughan was 24 when he was last seen on the evening of December 30, 2012.
Kyle, from Newbridge, had gone out to a party in Abercarn and had gone from the party to a pub in Risca to see some friends.
After spending some time with the friends, he set off to return to the party but never made it.
His car – a silver Peugeot - was found around 11.45pm crashed on the A467 between Risca and Crosskeys - but there was no sign of Kyle.
Gwent Police officers ran checks on the car and visited the home of Kyle’s parents Mary and Alan Vaughan - where they told Mr Vaughan he was under arrest for leaving the scene of a collision, which caused confusion as he had not been out, until they realised it was his son’s car.
Two undertakers would come forward to say that they had seen the crash and had spoken with Kyle, offering to give him a lift but he declined.
Concern rose for his welfare following the collision and his subsequence disappearance as the 24-year-old needed regular insulin injections to manage his diabetes.
Hundreds of people would join in the search for Kyle - but to this day nothing has been found.
Eleven days after he was last seen, police announced that the case had been upgraded from a missing person to a murder inquiry.
Eight people were arrested in connection with the murder in January 2013. Four were arrested on suspicion of murder and the remaining four for either suspicion of perverting the course of justice or on suspicion of assisting an offender.
All were later released on bail and no charges have ever been made.
In the years that followed the disappearance, Kyle’s family and friends have not given up the search for their loved one but are yet to have any answers.
Mrs Vaughan would die in 2018 after a battle with cancer, with Mr Vaughan telling the Argus that although the cancer killed her, ‘she also died of a broken heart’ for not knowing where her son was and what happened to him.
Following her death, Mr Vaughan has continued to campaign, despite his own ailing health. His aim is to reunite his wife and son so both can be at peace.
Two Argus front pages from January 2013
In emotional pleas, he calls for anyone who knows anything to come forward. “I just want Kyle’s body so I can put him to rest with Mary,” he told the Argus.
“After ten years of not knowing where our son’s body is, every day is hard. And now, five years without my Mary it’s bad.”
He appeared on Crimewatch Roadshow for an emotional appeal in late 2020, which also saw a reconstruction of Kyle’s last-known moments.
Mr Vaughan made a call to the families of those involved in Kyle’s disappearance. He said: “The people who murdered our son are still walking around your area. Those families know that their sons killed our son and they say nothing.”
During the decade, Gwent Police has searched more than 40 areas for Kyle. The force has also spoken to more than 200 people relating to the case, with almost 900 witness statements taken and more than 180 intelligence logs received.
Detective Chief Superintendent Nicky Brain, Gwent Police’s head of crime, said: “Our investigation into what happened to Kyle that night in December remains very much active. Ten years on, we remain in regular contact with Kyle’s family.
This has obviously been an extensive enquiry and it remains with our major investigation team.
“Unfortunately though, we still don’t have the answers we need and Kyle’s family so desperately want.
“Any information we receive from members of the public is recorded and investigated and we’re still keen to receive any information that may assist our enquiries, however minor you may feel it is.
“Anyone with any information can call us on 101 or alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
A public portal has also been launched by the police for anyone to submit any information they may have which is available here.
Read some of our coverage of the case over the past 10 years:
- Thousands support online campaign to find missing Newbridge man, Kyle Vaughan
- Our lives “not worth living” - parents of missing Newbridge man Kyle Vaughan
- £5,000 reward offered in hunt for missing Newbridge man Kyle Vaughan
- 'We just want his body found' - dad of missing Newbridge man Kyle Vaughan as pair arrested for his murder face no further action
- Police continuing appeal for information on Kyle Vaughan
- Tributes to 'selfless, charming, funny and kind` Kyle Vaughan at memorial service
- The search for missing Newbridge man Kyle Vaughan still continues - seven years on
- Key questions in Newbridge man Kyle Vaughan's disappearance
- Gwent Police renew appeal for Newbridge man Kyle Vaughan
- Kyle Vaughan appeal on BBC One's Crimewatch Roadshow
- The disappearance of Kyle Vaughan from Newbridge almost eight years on
- Kyle Vaughan from Newbridge's family on eight-year heartache
- Newbridge Kyle Vaughan disappearance family's plea
- Kyle Vaughan: Crimestoppers double reward for Newbridge man
- Kyle Vaughan murder: Crimestoppers offer £10,000 reward
- Kyle Vaughan: Nine years since Newbridge man's disappearance
- Newbridge's Kyle Vaughan appeal on 34th birthday
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