Richard Okorogheye: New CCTV images of missing student
Nineteen-year-old ‘has never done anything like this’, his mother says
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Your support makes all the difference.Police have released new images of missing teenager Richard Okorogheye from the evening of his disappearance as his mother appeals for any information about his whereabouts.
Mr Okorogheye, 19, a student at Oxford Brookes University, has been missing for over a week.
He was last seen on 22 March in the Ladbroke Grove area of west London boarding the 23 bus southbound at 8:44pm, but it is unknown at which stop he disembarked.
New CCTV images from that evening show the 19-year-old, who is described as 6ft tall and slim, wearing a black top, black tracksuit bottoms and black trainers and carrying a small Adidas bag.
His mother, Evidence Joel, has directly appealed to the public to help bring her son home. “Richard we love you and miss you very much, please can you come home. We aren’t angry at you. We just want to know that you’re okay,” she said in a statement.
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“For anyone reading this, we are desperately missing our son. If you know anything or know where he might be, please come forward and speak to the police.”
The student’s mother said that Mr Okorogheye told her he was going to visit a friend’s house and would be back later, but never returned home. None of his friends said they had seen him that night and he was reported missing on 24 March.
Ms Joel said she was concerned that her son had he had become depressed after spending so much time at home over the past year. He had been studying remotely and had been shielding during the coronavirus pandemic as he has sickle cell disease.
“Richard has never done anything like this. Something has gone wrong,” Ms Joel said.
She said Mr Okorogheye had recently told her he was “struggling to cope” while the pressures of university studies and that his wallet, bus pass and bank card had been left behind in his room.
In an interview with the MyLondon news website, the mother suggested that the Metropolitan police should be doing more to find the teenager, saying: “Richard is seen as a low risk but he’s a young adult with a health condition.”
Police said in a statement that they are carrying out increased patrols in the Kensal Road and Ladbroke Grove areas.
Detective Chief Inspector Nicki Beecher said: “We are keen to speak with anyone who may have been around Ladbroke Grove at the time of Richard’s last known sighting as captured above – you might be able to help us trace his next steps. If you may have seen Richard, please contact police, no detail is too insignificant.
“If Richard is safe and well, we ask him to contact us as a matter of urgency so that we can put his family’s minds at ease.”
Anyone with any information is asked to call 101 quoting 21MIS008134 or 999 in an emergency.
Information may also be given to the charity Missing People.
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