Father of missing Skipton man Rory Johnson Hatfield describes 'misery' of not knowing what happened to son following York night out

Losing sight of your child while out in public is an utterly terrifying experience. One minute you are standing talking to a friend you have bumped into or paying in the supermarket, the next you are frantically searching the crowd, heart pounding, palms sweating.

But for some families, that terror is not resolved minutes later in a colossal sigh of relief. For some, that sheer panic and complete loss of control runs into an hour, then into a day, a week. Sometimes years.

Rory Johnson Hatfield was 29 when he disappeared following a night out with friends in York city centre on November 19, 2015.

He had been enjoying an evening catching up with friends at the opening of Thor's tipi bar as part of the Christmas light switch on before they called it a night. The pizza delivery worker from Skipton was captured on CCTV heading along Tower Street at around 12.30am and crossing Skeldergate Bridge, before turning onto Skeldergate.

CCTV from the City Mills sheltered housing block showed Rory on the balcony of one of the apartments facing the River Ouse. He has not been seen since, leaving friends, family and his two brothers and two sisters in limbo.

Although the five-year-anniversary of Rory's disappearance is looming, North Yorkshire Police has never found any definitive leads pointing to what happened.

Accounts from friends suggested he had only drunk two pints and was not under heavy influence of alcohol. His father, Doug Hatfield, says CCTV of his son on Skeldergate showed him seemingly jogging before he managed to get into City Mills, suggesting he was running away from something.

"It has been five years of misery," Mr Hatfield says.

"Rory was last seen jogging down Skeldergate, then he scaled a six-foot gate to get on to the balcony and was seen by a resident at the care home. We have to wonder why he was doing this. He must have been chased."

Following Rory being reported missing the following day, police searched the river around the spot where he was last seen. A second search involving kayaks and cadaver dogs searched a six-mile stretch of the river.

Data released by the National Crime Agency (NCA), meanwhile, has revealed that one person is reported missing every 15 minutes in Yorkshire. Some 255 people in the same region remain at large with their fates largely unknown, including 74 children.

While these numbers include high-profile cases such as missing York chef Claudia Lawrence and Doncaster teenager Andrew Gosden, many disappearances receive little long-term coverage.

Mr Hatfield, 62, added: “Unless there is proof someone has been abducted or foul play, [police] are very lax about the investigation of missing people.

“The attention grabbing news is when it involves a child, a young girl or a lady. When young men go missing they get very little publicity. York is a big tourist spot so cases like Rory’s really need national news coverage.”

NCA data meanwhile shows that men and boys are more likely to be reported missing than women and girls.

“Rory got no publicity outside Yorkshire,” Mr Hatfield added.

“We’ve never had national coverage.”

Mr Hatfield has lived in the Loire Valley, northern France for several years but returns every year on the anniversary of his son's disappearance. Both him and Rory's mother, Liz Johnson, are hoping to go over parts of the investigation again this year with police.

"Having someone you love disappear this way – you think about it all day every day," he said.

"There's a weight on your shoulders all the time. I was in contact with him every day, and then for him to go missing like that. We miss him so much and to not know what has happened or where he is is like a huge part of you has gone missing."

Commenting on the case, a spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said: “The investigation into Rory’s disappearance in York on the night of Thursday 19 November 2015 remains open.

"We urge anyone who has any information about Rory that they haven’t shared with the police, or anyone who has new information, to get in touch with us. Our website contains information about Rory’s last known movements and we would appeal to anyone who visited York city centre that night to visit the page and to refresh their memory."

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