The father of Lee Boxell has pleaded with the public to end his “limbo” and help reveal the whereabouts of his son, who disappeared 30 years ago when he was 15 years old.
Police fear Lee may have been killed in 1988 after witnessing, or trying to stop, child abuse at a teenage hang-out near his home in Sutton, south-west London.
Monday marks 30 years since the boy went missing and his father, Peter Boxell, has issued an appeal through the charity, Missing People.
Boxell said: “I have been living in limbo for 30 years, not knowing if he is alive, safe and well, or if he was murdered.
“I am almost 72 now and do not want my life to end without discovering what happened to my son.”
Boxell reached the final of Britain’s Got Talent last year with the Missing People Choir, which sang I Miss You, in memory of his son.
Writing in a blog for HuffPost UK, Boxell said: “I can’t think of a better way to illustrate the helplessness of searching for a missing loved one than singing out over the rooftops of London.”
Some 24 years after he went missing, police learned Lee used to visit an outbuilding at St Dunstan’s Church dubbed “the Shed”, a gathering place for teenagers that was targeted by sexual predators.
In 2013 a part of the churchyard was excavated by officers investigating Lee’s disappearance. Forensic teams used ground-penetrating radar in the area but no trace of Lee was found.
In 2014 three men were arrested on suspicion of murder, but they were later released on bail.
Scotland Yard said on Friday there were no updates in the case.
