Student may have been lured to ‘occult’ bunker, father fears

Russell Bohling had uploaded information onto his computer about RAF Bempton, a disused former radar station near Bridlington, two weeks before he went missing on March 2, last year.

His father Roger believes he was not interested in the site’s military history but in a series of graphic images left on its walls by occultists – and that his interest was sparked by whoever gave him the memory stick or device with the information on.

Mr Bohling is now appealing for anyone who might be able to identify that person to come forward.

He added: “The site was used for a number of years by occult followers to hold meetings. They would light it up and take pictures and the walls of the tunnel are decorated with quite impressive erotic Satanic paintings.

“What’s going to attract an 18-year-old boy? It’s going to be the paintings rather than its unremarkable history as a Cold War site.”

Russell, who was 18 at the time of his disappearance, also logged onto an RAF Bempton website at 7.30am on March 2, half an hour before he left home in West Ella, near Hull, in the family’s blue Renault Clio. He has not been seen since.

The car was seen in the car park of RSPB Bempton nature reserve, close to the former RAF site, by a member of staff at 5pm on March 2, and was still there the next morning when he returned to work.

The underground bunker, which is privately owned, was searched by firefighters as part of a large-scale air, sea and land search in the immediate aftermath of Russell’s disappearance, but no sign of him was found.

Police believe the most likely explanation is that he had an accident or killed himself, but his family believe someone else was involved. Mr Bohling said: “I think two cars went to Bempton, I’ve always believed that.”

More on this story in Tuesday’s Yorkshire Post