0:00:06 > 0:00:07PHONE RINGS OUT
0:00:07 > 0:00:09- DISPATCHER:- Police emergency.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11CALLER HYPERVENTILATES
0:00:14 > 0:00:18Every two minutes, someone in Britain is reported missing.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23You feel total panic.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25Is there anything in the address
0:00:25 > 0:00:28that shows any sort of planned absences, any notes?
0:00:28 > 0:00:31There are hundreds of different reasons as to why people
0:00:31 > 0:00:33might be missing from home.
0:00:33 > 0:00:34THUNDERCLAP
0:00:34 > 0:00:36- MEDIA BROADCAST:- Concerns are growing for the welfare of
0:00:36 > 0:00:38- a missing Darlington pensioner...- Archie!
0:00:38 > 0:00:41Losing time can be catastrophic.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46The key for each investigation is to piece together
0:00:46 > 0:00:49the missing person's last-known movements.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52Some crumb, a sighting, that's what we're after. Proof of life.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56What is going on in your head? Where are you going?
0:00:56 > 0:00:58What are you going to go and do next?
0:01:00 > 0:01:02Following Durham Police,
0:01:02 > 0:01:04cameras capture everyone's perspective
0:01:04 > 0:01:06minute by minute, as the cases unfold.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08He saw the male at the cemetery.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10- RADIO:- Was seen leaving the cemetery and turning right.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18For loved ones left at home, everything hangs in the balance.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21You see people missing all the time, but you don't actually feel it,
0:01:21 > 0:01:24do you, until it actually happens to somebody who's close?
0:01:24 > 0:01:27And it's the worst feeling in the world.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30It doesn't matter how close you are to somebody, everybody has secrets.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35- RADIO:- I've found him! I've just found him! I've just found him now!
0:01:35 > 0:01:38I want to know where my son is.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40I need to be with him.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59PHONE RINGS OUT
0:02:01 > 0:02:03- DISPATCHER:- Police control room. Can I help?
0:02:03 > 0:02:05- PHONE:- I'm just ringing up to report a missing person.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09- What's the circumstance? - My husband, he's been missing since Saturday night.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11We'd just had an argument.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13He just stormed out in a huff, like a little kid,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16and he's got in his car and I've never seen him since.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19The only reason why I haven't reported it any earlier,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22I thought he might've been out with workmates or whatever.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24But it's out of character, really,
0:02:24 > 0:02:27because that's why I was waiting to see if he turned up at work today,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30because it's a new job and he's working with his brother.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34Does he sort of take drugs, alcohol, anything like that?
0:02:34 > 0:02:38No, no, because, like, we've got the baby now, so...
0:02:38 > 0:02:41He's not really a big drinker. He doesn't really go out much.
0:02:41 > 0:02:42We've only been married six weeks.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48OK. I've made a log, we'll get an officer to come around and see you
0:02:48 > 0:02:50within the next hour or so.
0:02:53 > 0:02:5628-year-old Darren has now been missing for three days.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01An officer is dispatched to follow up on his wife's call
0:03:01 > 0:03:03and to take a statement.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24I'll give you a bit of a run-through of what we know so far.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28A call came into police just after 12:30 yesterday afternoon
0:03:28 > 0:03:31from the wife, she's called Rebecca.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34She reported that she hadn't seen her husband since
0:03:34 > 0:03:39approximately 9pm on Saturday 27th August.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43At that time, she accounted that they'd been at their home address
0:03:43 > 0:03:47in Aycliffe and that there'd been a very minor argument between them.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50He'd stormed out of the address and left
0:03:50 > 0:03:53in a vehicle and hadn't been in contact with her since.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57Yesterday morning, she admitted that the account she'd given initially
0:03:57 > 0:04:01to police wasn't correct and that, in fact, on Saturday night,
0:04:01 > 0:04:06the pair of them had travelled to an address in Darlington,
0:04:06 > 0:04:08um, for a barbecue at a friend's address.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12And at some point around the 9:00 mark, we believe,
0:04:12 > 0:04:14he's walked out and he's left.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16He hasn't actually been seen to get into the car and leave
0:04:16 > 0:04:19by anybody present, but the car's gone,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22so they've made an assumption that he's left in the vehicle.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24I've never dealt with one where, um...
0:04:24 > 0:04:27the reporting person's lied to us to start off with.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31It's extremely frustrating when you've been working on it for
0:04:31 > 0:04:32however many hours or days,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35and then you find out that it's all been wasted
0:04:35 > 0:04:38because you've been looking in completely the wrong area.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42And time has passed and you could have been really honing in
0:04:42 > 0:04:44your resources to try and find the individual.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46Really frustrating.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51And I was thinking, the barbecue at Darlington,
0:04:51 > 0:04:53I think working backwards from that point is really important.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56So if we can go there, find out who was there,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59do the house-to-house, establish whether there's CCTV.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Just actually try and find out when his car moved.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12Ready?
0:05:12 > 0:05:16Darren's wife first reported that he went missing from his house
0:05:16 > 0:05:19in Newton Aycliffe, but her new account means that it was
0:05:19 > 0:05:23actually five miles south, at a barbecue in Darlington.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27The first to be questioned is the hostess of the barbecue.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31What's your gut instinct telling you?
0:05:31 > 0:05:33I feel ill. It's not like him.
0:05:33 > 0:05:34At all.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37- So, what's your gut telling you? - I don't know.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39Summat's happened to him, hasn't it?
0:05:39 > 0:05:41I'm just thinking the worst, I think.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46I mean, we don't know. We do not know what's happened to him.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49He may be at a mate's house, getting his head down.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Darren was seen leaving the barbecue in his car
0:05:54 > 0:05:57at some point between 9pm and 10pm.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01The police know they have a good chance of locating him
0:06:01 > 0:06:03if they can track down his vehicle.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06We've got a miss per and we've had no proof of life.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09And I'm just wondering if we can do some ANPR enquiries,
0:06:09 > 0:06:13both national and internal, just to see if he's hit anything.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16- PHONE:- It hasn't returned anything for today.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20- Still no reads at all nationally? - No.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23It's just odd that his car hasn't pinged at all.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26It could be that Darren's vehicle is somewhere between
0:06:26 > 0:06:29the barbecue address in Darlington and his hometown.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32The quickest way to search is by air.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34Hello. I'm trying to get
0:06:34 > 0:06:37a deployment for a missing-from-home we've got at the moment.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41It is, it's a miss per. We've got an area we need to deploy the bird.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58The family have informed the police that there is a particular route
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Darren always takes when he drives from Darlington to his house.
0:07:19 > 0:07:24And it looks like behind the hotel, Ricknall Lane, Lodge Lane,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28then he would've gone onto Elston Lane, Bishopton Lane
0:07:28 > 0:07:31and then over to Great Burden.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36We need to do a search from Darlington to the Aycliffe home address,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38specifically concentrating on the Sedgefield back roads.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29The delay in reporting him missing,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33which virtually amounted to three days, is far too long.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37If I know somebody's disappeared within the last hour,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40then the opportunities for somebody within that hour
0:08:40 > 0:08:43to go somewhere else are quite restrictive.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46However, if it's three days or four days,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49then who knows where they may have gone?
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Widening your parameters means more work to be done,
0:08:53 > 0:08:55there's a larger number of cameras to be checked,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58there's a huge geographical area that we need to check.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04If you tell me that somebody was at a bus stop
0:09:04 > 0:09:07on the high street at 3:15,
0:09:07 > 0:09:09then that's a lot easier than
0:09:09 > 0:09:12"Well, they left this party four days ago
0:09:12 > 0:09:15"and I don't know which way they went or where they went."
0:09:24 > 0:09:25Oh, it was awful.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28From when I found out, it was just, like...
0:09:28 > 0:09:30"You're joking, aren't you?"
0:09:30 > 0:09:33He's only gone to a barbecue for a drink and he's...
0:09:33 > 0:09:37just disappeared, like that?
0:09:37 > 0:09:39I was just, as you do, looking through Facebook,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43and I seen a message saying, "Our Darren, get yourself back home".
0:09:43 > 0:09:45I thought somebody was just messing on.
0:09:45 > 0:09:46I thought it was just a prank.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49I phoned Rebecca and she said,
0:09:49 > 0:09:53"Oh, yeah, he's...he's gone off in his car.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56"He's like... I haven't seen him since Saturday."
0:09:57 > 0:10:00I was like, "Since Saturday and I just found out now?"
0:10:01 > 0:10:05So that was it, really. That's all I really knew,
0:10:05 > 0:10:07until, like, they were going to phone the police
0:10:07 > 0:10:09to report him missing.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14Oh, I was racking my brains where he could be.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20The thing is, you can disappear quite easily,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23going down them country lanes. There aren't any cameras.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25You can go past two cameras
0:10:25 > 0:10:27and then you're lost after that, down the country lanes.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31It's easy to get lost.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49There are 50 square miles of country roads to search
0:10:49 > 0:10:52between the party address and Darren's home.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55The police are hoping that someone local may have seen him.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01We're just looking for a missing-from-home.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04You haven't seen any suspicious vehicles or anything parked
0:11:04 > 0:11:06- down here, have you? - I haven't, no.- No?
0:11:06 > 0:11:09- Unless they drive up here, I wouldn't see anything.- Right, OK.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Basically, we think he's taken the back route from Darlington
0:11:12 > 0:11:14back towards Aycliffe.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16He hasn't returned back to Aycliffe,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18so we're assuming he's parked up somewhere maybe.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21- You haven't seen anything suspicious?- I haven't seen anything.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23I don't know if next door might have seen something.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26OK, I'll go and give them a knock. Thank you.
0:11:32 > 0:11:33Because of the nature of
0:11:33 > 0:11:35the complexity of the enquiries involved in this,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38this is probably the biggest missing person case
0:11:38 > 0:11:41I've been involved with in this force.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57The access point down to there,
0:11:57 > 0:11:59there was a lot of cobwebs and stuff.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14It's like being in limbo, that you just don't know
0:12:14 > 0:12:18and you just can't find where that person is
0:12:18 > 0:12:20that means so much.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22And...it's like desperation,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25that you're racking your brains all the time.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27"Where's Darren?"
0:12:27 > 0:12:29It just takes over your life.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35I'd always feel responsible, no matter what. He's my brother.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40He'd feel the same way as me.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48He is a child at heart and it's just his wit and, um...
0:12:48 > 0:12:51the way he comes out with things and his one-liners and stuff.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55A big child at heart. I mean, he was when he was at the wedding.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59The way he was messing on, fun-fighting and stuff.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Never stopped smiling all day.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04He had the biggest smile on his face you can imagine.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06From walking in that door...
0:13:08 > 0:13:10..to having our last drink.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13And he just loved his suit. His gold suit.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26We follow the basics of
0:13:26 > 0:13:28the investigation and we're getting nothing.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31I would expect that some crumb will come out.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33Some spark.
0:13:33 > 0:13:38A sighting, a phone call from somebody who's spoken to them.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41There will be, like, a proof of life.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43And that's we're after, proof of life.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48But it's almost like he'd just
0:13:48 > 0:13:50disappeared off the face of the earth.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01A new shift is starting at Bishop Auckland station.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03And with all enquiries so far exhausted,
0:14:03 > 0:14:07the attention shifts back to the wife's changing account.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09- RADIO:- ..That sort of time.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15His wife, presently witness, but increasingly suspicious.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18Her account has changed on two or three occasions.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22For example, she said things such as, "I hate him."
0:14:22 > 0:14:24And we said, "Well, why do you hate him?"
0:14:24 > 0:14:25"Because he's been missing,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28"because he's done this to you, the emotional turmoil?"
0:14:28 > 0:14:30"No, because he's drink-drove on the night."
0:14:30 > 0:14:34And she's become quite hostile when we've started to question her.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37And equally, she doesn't want us to go to her house.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39Every time we've contacted her to date,
0:14:39 > 0:14:42she's insisted on coming to the police station.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44It's becoming increasingly suspicious,
0:14:44 > 0:14:47particularly with the lack of proof of life. Um...
0:14:47 > 0:14:50If she's obviously changing accounts on several occasions
0:14:50 > 0:14:54and gone hostile, it begs the question, what has happened?
0:14:54 > 0:14:56- What is she not telling us?- Exactly.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02The really, really suspicious might question whether
0:15:02 > 0:15:06the person who has actually been reported missing
0:15:06 > 0:15:10is actually the victim of a domestic, er...homicide.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14And that the delay in reporting it to us
0:15:14 > 0:15:18is deliberate so that evidence can be concealed
0:15:18 > 0:15:20so that steps can be taken to, you know,
0:15:20 > 0:15:25to lay a false trail or to actually hide or conceal what's gone on.
0:15:25 > 0:15:30So that's probably the most sinister aspect of that delay.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42It was a fiery relationship.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45They liked to argue a bit, but they loved each other.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48That's the way they went on, really.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51She used to shout, "What have you hoovered up for?
0:15:51 > 0:15:52"I've already hoovered up!"
0:15:52 > 0:15:54"Yeah, but it needed hoovering up again."
0:15:54 > 0:15:57"It doesn't need hoovering up, I've done it!"
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Little daft things like that. It was just the way she was.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03I think sometimes she doesn't realise how she's doing it.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07She's just irate. She just shouts.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09"I'm the boss."
0:16:23 > 0:16:27Officers have been asked to talk with Darren's wife again.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33Have you got any further information today, Rebecca, or not?
0:16:33 > 0:16:34You've nothing at all?
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Because bearing in mind, you've got a lot of resources looking for him.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40If there's anything you think of, even something really,
0:16:40 > 0:16:42really small, let us know.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Because that could change our thought process,
0:16:45 > 0:16:46you know what I mean?
0:16:46 > 0:16:48And we can concentrate our efforts on that.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51All we want to do, Rebecca, is bring him home to you and the bairn.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53That's all we want. Right?
0:16:53 > 0:16:58Any information, even if you think it's going to get him into trouble,
0:16:58 > 0:16:59you need to let us know.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15Darren's been missing for five days.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Inspector Neal Armstrong calls a meeting with CID.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23Not to have a single lead, which is unusual, really unusual,
0:17:23 > 0:17:26and the last person who saw them alive has lied to us,
0:17:26 > 0:17:30that's when I approach CID and say, "We need some assistance now
0:17:30 > 0:17:34"to establish what this person knows and what they don't know".
0:17:37 > 0:17:40I've been in the CID for nearly ten years and I think this is
0:17:40 > 0:17:42probably only the second time in that period of time
0:17:42 > 0:17:45that I've been involved in a missing-from-home case.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50We spoke to Rebecca again. Just no emotion from her.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52She basically just said, you know, she's got to carry on with her life.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56- And how did she present to you, then?- Very cold.- Mm-hm.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00Very cold for somebody whose husband's been missing five days.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04Initially, she said her belief was that he was dead
0:18:04 > 0:18:05and he had been for two days.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07And again, that was prior to her
0:18:07 > 0:18:09reporting him missing to us, wasn't it?
0:18:09 > 0:18:11Did she elaborate as to why she thought that?
0:18:11 > 0:18:13Just because the fact he hadn't been seen.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16- She couldn't elaborate any further, could she?- No.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18Just no emotion, very cold.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21Strange.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32It's now up to CID to find out what really happened on the day
0:18:32 > 0:18:34Darren disappeared.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38As detectives, we've had that enhanced level of training
0:18:38 > 0:18:41that we will ask those awkward questions,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45and not everybody likes being asked those awkward questions,
0:18:45 > 0:18:46but unfortunately, sometimes,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49that's the only way to get to the truth.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53They went to this barbecue, it was a small function,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56nobody actually saw Darren leave the barbecue.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59And we know there was potentially a domestic incident there, as well.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02Possible even a minor assault involved, as well.
0:19:02 > 0:19:03So we just need to get that
0:19:03 > 0:19:06bottomed out and see what people actually saw.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10See you later.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14Detectives Emma and Claire head to the barbecue address in Darlington,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16and begin by searching the property.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32CID enlist the help of beat officers
0:19:32 > 0:19:36to acquire CCTV evidence from the day Darren went missing.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43From his bank records, they know he went to a Tesco in his hometown.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49We're here to double-check the CCTV
0:19:49 > 0:19:53for Saturday night just gone for the ATM.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02- It was the 27th, wasn't it? - Yeah, the 27th.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04The actual transaction was...
0:20:04 > 0:20:05- 16:49.- ..16:49.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13Emma and Claire have finished the search.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Now they have to dig deeper into the hostess' account of what happened.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20I need to know everything.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24The only way I can help you is if you tell me everything
0:20:24 > 0:20:27and let me be the judge of what I do and do not need to know.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34- So what time did the party start, then?- 2:00.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37And did he come here for 2:00?
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Yeah, they were here for 2:00 because Becky brought the birthday cake.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42So what were they like when they first got here?
0:20:42 > 0:20:44All right. They were fine.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47- Anything...- Nothing.- No moods?
0:20:47 > 0:20:50- No fallouts?- No. No. - Nothing?- Nothing.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52Was there a sign that either of them
0:20:52 > 0:20:54- had had a drink when they first arrived?- No.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56- Not at all?- No. None of them.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59They weren't having a drink.
0:20:59 > 0:21:05- OK.- But then...Darren said that his mam would have the baby,
0:21:05 > 0:21:09- so then Darren went to go and drop the baby off...- Mm-hm.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12..and then come back with a box of Stella
0:21:12 > 0:21:15and two bottles of wine for Becky.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23At Tesco, the police are examining the CCTV to learn more about
0:21:23 > 0:21:27Darren's movements when he wasn't at the party.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31They know he was wearing jeans and a white shirt.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33- There, that's him there. - Is that him?
0:21:33 > 0:21:36- Yeah, you're 100% that's him, yeah? - I'd say so.
0:21:36 > 0:21:3716:49.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40Do you want me to see if we can trace him around the store?
0:21:40 > 0:21:43If he's come in, we should be able to follow him on the CCTV.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48- There he is, he comes in. - Yeah, he comes into the store.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51- 16:49:37.- Yeah.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56- There you go.- There he is. - So he's walking along there.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59He'll be going to the beer aisle, 100%.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01- There he is.- Yeah.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03So he's actually gone up...
0:22:03 > 0:22:05- Spirit and wine.- ..wine aisle.
0:22:05 > 0:22:06- He's gone up the wine aisle.- Right.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10- So... And there he is. - He's got a bottle.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Two bottles of spirit... two bottles of wine in his hand.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19- And that's the... - That's the imports, isn't it?
0:22:19 > 0:22:22Yeah, it's the Budweiser. That's where the crates of Bud are.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29- And that...- What's he got?- That's a white box. That is either...
0:22:29 > 0:22:32- It's Stella.- Stella, or it's that...
0:22:32 > 0:22:35No, that's 100% Stella, yeah.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Hopefully, he goes to self-serve to pay.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41- So there you go. You can clearly identify him there.- Yeah.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44He's got his Bag for Life.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46- Crate of Stella. - That's Stella, isn't it?
0:22:46 > 0:22:49- We don't get him outside at all, do we?- No.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52Not after he... Basically, after he leaves this shot here.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03So at what time did he return, then?
0:23:03 > 0:23:05He was gone about an hour, an hour and a half.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09- So that makes it between 5 and 6. - Yeah.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13Um...was he drinking any of Becky's wine?
0:23:13 > 0:23:15I think so, yeah.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17- So he was drinking wine as well? - Yeah.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19He'd been drinking lager,
0:23:19 > 0:23:21he'd been to the shop to get more Jack Daniels.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24And he got some JD?
0:23:24 > 0:23:26JD, fags and a scratchcard.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29- Because he was over the moon because he'd won on the scratchcard.- Had he?
0:23:29 > 0:23:32- Yeah.- Did he say how much money he'd won?- Not a clue.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42Footage from the newsagents confirms Darren's movements
0:23:42 > 0:23:44an hour on from the Tesco CCTV.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Perfect. Thank you.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00- So have you recorded the initial footage of him in the shop?- Yes.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02- Right, let's have a look at this. - This is outside.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07There he is. Right, so that's 17:48 and 58 seconds.
0:24:07 > 0:24:0917:48.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14The police have been told he left the party around 9:30pm.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19So the hostess' account of the next four hours is critical.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24How big was the bottle of JD?
0:24:24 > 0:24:27- It was... Do you know one of the little ones, like that?- Mm.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30He'd had two of them. My husband was drinking them, as well.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33- Oh, so, it's...- It was between him and my husband.- Right.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36I know they were talking, having a heart-to-heart in the garden
0:24:36 > 0:24:38and they were talking about friends.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40Him having no friends, or something like that.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43- So who noticed that Darren had left?- Me.- You?- Mm.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45- And how did you notice it? - I went up to the toi...
0:24:45 > 0:24:48Well, I thought...we thought because the way he'd left the room...
0:24:48 > 0:24:50How'd he leave the room?
0:24:50 > 0:24:52Just, like, as normal, as if he were going to the toilet.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55So I've checked all the rooms, nothing, and that's when
0:24:55 > 0:24:57I went to the front and that's when I noticed the car had gone.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00And that's when I came in and I said, "Look, he has gone".
0:25:00 > 0:25:02- What was Becky's reaction?- She said, "What do you mean, he's gone?"
0:25:02 > 0:25:06I said, "He's gone home, like, he's left you." Like...
0:25:06 > 0:25:09We've had some information that, um...there's been a domestic
0:25:09 > 0:25:12incident between the two of them while they were at your house.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14- A domestic?- Yeah.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17- Did you hear any fallouts between them?- Like, no!
0:25:19 > 0:25:21- Nothing at all? - To me, they were just bantering
0:25:21 > 0:25:25and they were being their normal selves.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29That's why I didn't... If there was, I would... Straight away.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33- Any physical contact between the two of them?- No, no, no, nothing.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36There was no big fight or nothing like that.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43Back at Bishop Auckland station,
0:25:43 > 0:25:47Emma and Claire report their findings to their boss, Tommy.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51She said she hasn't seen an argument,
0:25:51 > 0:25:53nobody's made reference to an argument.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57The thing that just concerns me about that is that Rebecca is
0:25:57 > 0:26:01saying that there was possibly a physical assault by Rebecca on him.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04I said, "Was there any physical contact between the two of them?"
0:26:04 > 0:26:06And she said no. Unless she's hiding it.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09Would you be able to give her a ring? I know we've come back from her.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Ask her direct and just say, look, no-one's getting into trouble here,
0:26:12 > 0:26:14all we want to do is try and find Darren.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16PHONE RINGS OUT
0:26:16 > 0:26:18- PHONE:- Hello? - It's Emma from the police station.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21- I'm the officer who has just been round to your house.- Hiya.
0:26:21 > 0:26:22We've spoken to our boss.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25What he's said is that Becky's confirmed to us that she had
0:26:25 > 0:26:28a conversation with you on Sunday morning, you told her that
0:26:28 > 0:26:30there'd been a physical assault between her and Darren.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Now, nobody's in any trouble,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36we're not kind of investigating any sort of assault.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Yeah, that there's been physical contact between the two of them.
0:26:43 > 0:26:44She'd hi...?
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Right, so, she did hit him?
0:26:48 > 0:26:50All right, thank you. Bye.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Yeah, there's been a physical assault. She's confirmed it.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59She said, "I didn't think it was important".
0:27:01 > 0:27:04But she said that before Darren went into the garden,
0:27:04 > 0:27:06she can't remember what was said,
0:27:06 > 0:27:09but that Becky has punched him to the face.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11No injury that she saw.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13No bleeding, immediate bruising or anything.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16Said that... Described him as being absolutely fine.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19He didn't appear upset, he didn't appear angry, um...
0:27:19 > 0:27:22- He'll have been embarrassed, though.- Probably.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25And he's gone into the kitchen and then, it's just after this
0:27:25 > 0:27:28when her partner and Darren have gone into the back garden to talk.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30Have a one-to-one.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32So I think he's really the important person we need to speak to.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37Police now know Darren had an intimate conversation
0:27:37 > 0:27:40with the party's host before he disappeared.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45The last person to see somebody alive,
0:27:45 > 0:27:48they're going to give that detailed account of someone's mind-set
0:27:48 > 0:27:50prior to them going missing.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53They are key and we need to speak to them as quickly as possible.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58But the man they need to question is working overseas
0:27:58 > 0:28:00and won't be back for two days.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12As the week drew on, it was, like,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15it was getting more desperate
0:28:15 > 0:28:17and it was getting more and more worrying.
0:28:17 > 0:28:23And then we felt like if we shared photos on Twitter and Facebook,
0:28:23 > 0:28:26that that was the only thing that we could do.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29He hadn't been seen and his car hadn't been seen
0:28:29 > 0:28:31and it just wasn't...
0:28:31 > 0:28:33It just wasn't adding up.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41Is he alive? Is he dead?
0:28:44 > 0:28:46All sorts were just going through my head.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50Just constantly, all the time.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53What-ifs all the time. What-ifs.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26After six days, the police at last have a breakthrough.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31Could you do me a favour?
0:29:31 > 0:29:33Could you record that footage
0:29:33 > 0:29:39and send it to me on, er...on my phone?
0:29:39 > 0:29:42We can concentrate our search around that area.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46Officers on the ground have tracked down crucial CCTV
0:29:46 > 0:29:49of Darren's car the night he left the party.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53He's captured on CCTV...
0:29:53 > 0:29:56- You know the PCSOs doing the review? - Yep.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58Junction of Longfield Road...
0:29:58 > 0:30:01- Oh, fantastic!- ..he turns right onto Whessoe Road at 21:51.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03- Brilliant.- He cuts the corner
0:30:03 > 0:30:07and then heads up Whessoe Road, towards, like, Burtree, that way.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10There's cops up there now searching that whole route.
0:30:11 > 0:30:15So far, the police have been concentrating their search
0:30:15 > 0:30:18on Darren's preferred route home from Darlington.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22The CCTV confirms he was travelling in a different direction.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27Now, air support can concentrate their search
0:30:27 > 0:30:30on roads they know Darren has taken.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55The helicopter's camera can't see through dense foliage,
0:30:55 > 0:30:58so officers join the search at ground level.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01- Look how far that goes down!- I know.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04- There's nothing, like, fresh either. - He's not here.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43I just feel...I feel a bit deflated.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46It's...it's more an element of frustration more than anything.
0:31:46 > 0:31:48You just...
0:31:48 > 0:31:50You want to bring it to a conclusion and
0:31:50 > 0:31:52there's nothing at this moment in time
0:31:52 > 0:31:55which is going to assist us in doing that, so...
0:31:56 > 0:31:59Hopefully that changes before the shift's over.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03There's just nothing.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08There's just no explanation to where he is.
0:32:25 > 0:32:30CID are continuing to interview other guests that were at the party.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34We've had information that you were actually one of the persons
0:32:34 > 0:32:36who was present at the barbecue on Saturday,
0:32:36 > 0:32:37which is the last place that he was seen.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39And how did Darren seem on the day?
0:32:39 > 0:32:42You said that their marriage wasn't very good.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44Do you know what they'd been rowing about?
0:32:44 > 0:32:46They'd been rowing about drugs.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49Who made that disclosure to you?
0:32:49 > 0:32:52So they both told you that Darren's using drugs.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54OK, did they say what drugs he was using?
0:32:57 > 0:33:00He's been smoking crack cocaine.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08She's saying that he's got a really bad crack habit.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11His personality has massively changed recently.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15She had a wine and cheese night a couple of months ago.
0:33:16 > 0:33:21And she described him as being a dick while he was at the party,
0:33:21 > 0:33:24that he's got this crack cocaine habit.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27His mum's given him three grand in two months.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29He said that he needed it
0:33:29 > 0:33:31because Becky wasn't being paid maternity leave.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34Well, apparently, he only uses it on a Thursday
0:33:34 > 0:33:36when she goes to her dad's house.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39You can't imagine it, though, can you, like,
0:33:39 > 0:33:44someone who you've just married coming out with something like that.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50To find out that he's possibly on crack cocaine...
0:33:54 > 0:33:55..just...
0:33:57 > 0:34:00It was just unbelievable when I heard about it.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07I don't know if I can comprehend anything.
0:34:07 > 0:34:08Crack cocaine with Darren,
0:34:08 > 0:34:11it just doesn't seem to go in the same sentence.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17But he's been... Well, I wouldn't say habitually,
0:34:17 > 0:34:20but he's previously been using crack cocaine.
0:34:20 > 0:34:22You know, where does that come from? And how does that fit in?
0:34:22 > 0:34:25Because if he's using that, then are we looking at dealers,
0:34:25 > 0:34:27are we looking at debt,
0:34:27 > 0:34:31are we looking at him being an interim dealer or user or...?
0:34:31 > 0:34:32Yeah.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38If somebody is drug dependent, it changes things massively.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41If they have, for example, a second life,
0:34:41 > 0:34:44which your partner is unaware of,
0:34:44 > 0:34:47or your wife's unaware of, we need to probe into that
0:34:47 > 0:34:49and find out, well, is there actually something else
0:34:49 > 0:34:51that's going on underneath that's caused somebody
0:34:51 > 0:34:53to go missing from home?
0:34:59 > 0:35:02People do have secrets. It's quite common.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07Our job is to work out who they really are,
0:35:07 > 0:35:09and what they're about,
0:35:09 > 0:35:12what they're thinking, how their lifestyle is.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19What we see on face value of somebody smiling in a photograph
0:35:19 > 0:35:22and who looks really happy,
0:35:22 > 0:35:24could deep down be heavily depressed.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32And I just automatically think, "What is going on in your head?
0:35:32 > 0:35:36"Where are you going? What are you going to go and do next?"
0:35:36 > 0:35:38It really does make you try to get back into their heads again
0:35:38 > 0:35:41of what's around you, what have you just done?
0:35:52 > 0:35:54What's going to happen to him?
0:35:54 > 0:35:57He's left pissed, and he's had an accident.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59I would have thought that if he's had an accident,
0:35:59 > 0:36:01there'd be a trace of his vehicle somewhere.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03So that would come up as a road traffic collision
0:36:03 > 0:36:05because we would have a record of it somewhere,
0:36:05 > 0:36:08either us or county forces or other forces.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11He's left, pissed, and killed himself?
0:36:11 > 0:36:15Possibly, but there's no indicators to say why he would go and do so.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18He's not left a note or anything like that, though, has he?
0:36:18 > 0:36:20Or he's just...
0:36:20 > 0:36:24..disappeared for a bit. Keep his head down for a few days.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27He took a load of cash out the day before, didn't he?
0:36:27 > 0:36:30He might have an account that we don't know about. Unlikely, but...
0:36:30 > 0:36:32Has he got a passport?
0:36:32 > 0:36:34No, she's got that,
0:36:34 > 0:36:36but as we said, he's got a friend in the military
0:36:36 > 0:36:40who's in Northern Ireland where you would only need a driving licence
0:36:40 > 0:36:41to get over there.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46Could he be in some crack house in Darlington?
0:36:58 > 0:37:00It was the Thursday I went out
0:37:00 > 0:37:05and I pretty much knew where the houses were,
0:37:05 > 0:37:07where you can go and get some stuff.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10So I went searching round all them.
0:37:17 > 0:37:22Obviously, he wasn't there, you know, so it was like, pff.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24Where next?
0:37:28 > 0:37:30Asking people in the street
0:37:30 > 0:37:33if they've seen the likes of Darren and stuff.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37But there's a lot of people just said they haven't seen him.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40They haven't seen him for a while.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43I was racking my brains where he could be.
0:37:59 > 0:38:03CID have received new information from Darren's wife.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07She's looked at his online banking,
0:38:07 > 0:38:09and she's seen that in early August,
0:38:09 > 0:38:12there's been £1,000 paid into the account.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14I asked her if there was anything on there
0:38:14 > 0:38:17to suggest where it had come from and she said, "No."
0:38:17 > 0:38:21And she said that all throughout August, at different times,
0:38:21 > 0:38:25there's been, like, £90 drawn out here, 120 drawn out here.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28You know, like, different amounts over, like, throughout August,
0:38:28 > 0:38:30and now it's cleared out.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33As I say, I think there's 39 pence or something left in it.
0:38:33 > 0:38:35And she had no idea about that money. She said it's not his wages.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37She doesn't know where it's come from.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40So is that a separate bank account that she wasn't aware of?
0:38:40 > 0:38:41No, no, she's aware of it.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44- This is the main Barclays account that they've been using.- Yeah.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46- But she's just never noticed that cash before?- No.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49I asked Rebecca, "What's your gut feeling?" and she said,
0:38:49 > 0:38:52"I think, because of the drugs, I think someone's taken him."
0:38:52 > 0:38:54Someone's taken him?
0:38:54 > 0:38:55Yeah, she didn't elaborate on it,
0:38:55 > 0:38:57and she couldn't put any sort of meat on the bones
0:38:57 > 0:38:59in relation to it, but...
0:38:59 > 0:39:01Unless he's gone somewhere to score,
0:39:01 > 0:39:03and something's befallen him.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08It may be that she's still not letting on as much as she knows.
0:39:08 > 0:39:09I don't know.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11Because she hasn't been consistent, has she?
0:39:17 > 0:39:21Deeper enquiries into Darren's bank accounts
0:39:21 > 0:39:24have brought another person of interest into the investigation.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29Transactions.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33Yes, basically, you know the neighbour next door, the best man?
0:39:33 > 0:39:34He...
0:39:35 > 0:39:39Basically, Darren has been sending him online banking money
0:39:39 > 0:39:42so that the fella can draw it out for him,
0:39:42 > 0:39:44which is unusual, so we need to speak to the neighbour.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46It's Thomas Archer.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49I'm going to try and get somebody to go round and try and speak to him,
0:39:49 > 0:39:52and try and find out what their relationship was,
0:39:52 > 0:39:54and if he can shed any further light.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03Other the past month,
0:40:03 > 0:40:06Darren made several payments into his neighbour's bank account.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12I've been asked to ask you, Thomas. They've obviously done a check on his bank,
0:40:12 > 0:40:14- and there's been some deposits made into your account.- Yeah.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18- He used to do that all the time. - Right.- What was that in relation to?
0:40:18 > 0:40:20Cos he never had a bank card, or he said he never had a bank card.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22- Right.- Says his mum's got his bank card.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25He'd given it to his mum because he was trying to save money.
0:40:25 > 0:40:27- All right.- He used to send me the money...- Yeah.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29..and then go round the shop and get the money out.
0:40:29 > 0:40:31And get the money back out.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34Did you just give him a card? Just to draw it out? Yeah.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37And he used to be skint all the while.
0:40:37 > 0:40:38And then come back and say,
0:40:38 > 0:40:41"Oh, look, I've just won 500 quid on a scratchcard."
0:40:41 > 0:40:43And you just knew blatantly he was lying to you.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46- Because you can't go and cash a scratchcard for 500 quid.- No.
0:40:46 > 0:40:48Why don't you just say, like,
0:40:48 > 0:40:51I think he used to borrow off people, his ma and that, you know?
0:40:51 > 0:40:54He used to lie about money all the while.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57See, it's not that we're investigating any issues with drugs
0:40:57 > 0:41:00or anything, like, but are you aware of any issues he had with drugs?
0:41:00 > 0:41:02Well, I knew he did drugs,
0:41:02 > 0:41:03but I didn't think it was an issue
0:41:03 > 0:41:06because he must have been quite good at hiding it,
0:41:06 > 0:41:09but now it's been mentioned, you think,
0:41:09 > 0:41:13"Maybe that's why he's skint and that's why he's losing so much..."
0:41:13 > 0:41:16I mean, the tops of his legs, here,
0:41:16 > 0:41:19when the wind blew round his jeans, they were like my wrists.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22Like, proper just dropped off him.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25He's always been, like, skinny, never put no weight on,
0:41:25 > 0:41:29but recently, he started looking like a corpse.
0:41:29 > 0:41:31There's all sorts of theories that you could come up with,
0:41:31 > 0:41:33but that's all they are, theories, isn't it?
0:41:33 > 0:41:35You've got no money, you've got no change of clothes,
0:41:35 > 0:41:37unless he's been saving up all that money
0:41:37 > 0:41:40that he's been taking out and he's planned to do a bunk or something.
0:41:40 > 0:41:41Yeah.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43I don't know. It just seems weird for the car to go.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53I've never worked on anything like this before,
0:41:53 > 0:41:57where the revelations about the lifestyle have continued to develop,
0:41:57 > 0:41:59where you think you're getting somewhere,
0:41:59 > 0:42:02and then suddenly there's a whole raft of new lines of inquiry
0:42:02 > 0:42:07that are quite protracted and lengthy,
0:42:07 > 0:42:10and can take you off in a completely different direction.
0:42:10 > 0:42:12That was found...
0:42:12 > 0:42:15You know like you get a chest of drawers,
0:42:15 > 0:42:17and you get a base along the bottom?
0:42:17 > 0:42:19See the bottom of that cupboard there?
0:42:19 > 0:42:22When you take the drawers out, there's an empty space underneath.
0:42:22 > 0:42:23And underneath there was this.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26Obviously, when she's looked in there there's been...
0:42:26 > 0:42:28That's all of his debt.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31There is bank statements and debt letters, she said.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33It's a defaulter's bank account,
0:42:33 > 0:42:36Capital One credit card with £345 default on it.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38That may relate to that,
0:42:38 > 0:42:40so we didn't really know about it, but yeah.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44- That's fine.- Put that in as one unit and that will be looked through.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46Yeah.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48- Fantastic. Thank you.- No worries.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55Darren and Rebecca only bought their house a few years ago.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59So it'll be about two to three years.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01They were saving up for a deposit,
0:43:01 > 0:43:04and put a deposit on the house and then moved in their house.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07When I first got on the property ladder,
0:43:07 > 0:43:11I picked my house up for £29,000, you know?
0:43:11 > 0:43:14Now you're looking at 80, 90, 100.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19You know, you're looking at £400 or £500 a month.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22That's even before anything else.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24Easy.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28He never showed any pressure, like, he never...
0:43:28 > 0:43:30never once...
0:43:31 > 0:43:35..showed he was, like, struggling with anything.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37He just got on with life.
0:43:37 > 0:43:39He was always jolly, still.
0:43:40 > 0:43:42I know if you're brave on the outside,
0:43:42 > 0:43:44it's what goes on inside.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49If drugs are involved in the case,
0:43:49 > 0:43:53then it's a consideration that the debt that comes with it,
0:43:53 > 0:43:58or the risks, owing money to a drug dealer, to them,
0:43:58 > 0:44:00is quite a significant thing.
0:44:00 > 0:44:04Because if I don't pay Barclays for my mortgage, I'll get a letter,
0:44:04 > 0:44:07and then I'll get a warning letter and whatever else.
0:44:07 > 0:44:11They'll get their legs broken. And they don't play fair.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14The debt'll get doubled, tripled, and realistically,
0:44:14 > 0:44:16it's going to be never-ending.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23When you start factoring in debt,
0:44:23 > 0:44:26and when you start factoring in drug use,
0:44:26 > 0:44:29and you start factoring in a side of life
0:44:29 > 0:44:32which your family are oblivious to,
0:44:32 > 0:44:35then it's possible that you've been hiding.
0:44:35 > 0:44:40You've almost had, like, a secret life or a second life.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43It's like going through the back of the wardrobe into Narnia, isn't it?
0:44:43 > 0:44:46It's like you exist in a parallel life.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52They've just had enough of the mundane existence
0:44:52 > 0:44:56which was the normal life. They would just disappear
0:44:56 > 0:44:59and almost make a new start.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02You know, start living that side of their life
0:45:02 > 0:45:05which was just different to the life that they'd been leading previously
0:45:05 > 0:45:08in that, you know, the domestic family set-up.
0:45:43 > 0:45:48It's been seven days since Darren went missing at the barbecue.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52The party's host is now back in the UK and has come in for questioning.
0:45:53 > 0:45:57CID need to know what was said in their intimate conversation
0:45:57 > 0:45:59before Darren disappeared.
0:46:00 > 0:46:05We've been told that, and this has come from Becky,
0:46:05 > 0:46:10that she'd been seen to hit Darren at the party.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12And a few people had said that
0:46:12 > 0:46:15you had quite a conversation with Darren outside,
0:46:15 > 0:46:17and it was a bit of a heart-to-heart.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20They were arguing. Like, name-calling. I was like,
0:46:20 > 0:46:23"Come on, let's go outside and have a smoke and a chat."
0:46:23 > 0:46:26We went outside, sat in the gazebo.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28And I was like, "What's up?"
0:46:28 > 0:46:31- And he just started getting upset. - Upset crying or...?
0:46:31 > 0:46:32- Yeah, yeah, crying.- OK.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35- I was like, "What's up with you?" - OK, OK. This part...
0:46:35 > 0:46:37Is really important.
0:46:37 > 0:46:39..is really important, so I'm going to try and type
0:46:39 > 0:46:40exactly what you say.
0:46:40 > 0:46:43He can't seem to find a way out of it.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45And he doesn't know how to make things better.
0:46:45 > 0:46:47And he was saying, "I've messed up.
0:46:47 > 0:46:48"I don't know how to get back from it."
0:46:48 > 0:46:50I was like, "Well, what have you done?"
0:46:50 > 0:46:51"Oh, she's never going to forgive me.
0:46:51 > 0:46:53"She's never going to forgive me."
0:46:53 > 0:46:55I was like, "Whatever you've done can't be that bad.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57"You've only been married a few weeks."
0:46:57 > 0:47:01I said, like, "Sort your head out." Basically.
0:47:01 > 0:47:03And he was saying,
0:47:03 > 0:47:05"Ah, but she'll never forgive me, she'll never forgive me."
0:47:05 > 0:47:09He said, "I've got no mates." I said, "Well, I'm your mate."
0:47:09 > 0:47:12But I haven't actually known him for that long.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16I've known him...not even six months, I don't think.
0:47:16 > 0:47:21Did he ever, at any point, say what this thing is that he'd done...
0:47:21 > 0:47:23- No, he was just, he was just... - Becky was not going to forgive.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25He seemed as if, whatever he's done...
0:47:27 > 0:47:30It seemed like he couldn't find...
0:47:30 > 0:47:32He didn't know how to make things better.
0:47:32 > 0:47:36Then we went back in the house and we had a few more drinks.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39And then he just went.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48- So did he tell him what was wrong? - Nothing.- Did he not ask him?
0:47:48 > 0:47:50- He hasn't pushed him.- No.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54- Are we happy that he's telling the truth about that?- Yeah, yeah.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57I've read it out to him about three times.
0:47:57 > 0:47:59Cos that would be your first question, wouldn't it?
0:47:59 > 0:48:03It's a shame he didn't probe as to why he was...
0:48:04 > 0:48:05..so down.
0:48:05 > 0:48:07Nothing. He couldn't give any lines of inquiry.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09He did say he's going to go out walking tonight
0:48:09 > 0:48:12with another guy who was at the party to see if he could find him.
0:48:21 > 0:48:25Within half an hour of the barbecue host leaving,
0:48:25 > 0:48:30Darren's brother, Andrew, turns up unexpectedly at the station.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37Come in, take a seat.
0:48:37 > 0:48:38Um...
0:48:41 > 0:48:45My name's Emma. I am a detective and I work in South Durham CID.
0:48:45 > 0:48:48I'm one of those assisting in the investigation of finding Darren.
0:48:48 > 0:48:49Yeah.
0:48:49 > 0:48:51How are you doing?
0:48:51 > 0:48:53- Not very good.- No.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56Are there any questions you want to ask us?
0:48:57 > 0:48:59How has he disappeared? Where's he gone?
0:49:03 > 0:49:05What do you think's happened to him?
0:49:06 > 0:49:10My initial feeling is that he's just gone and started a new life.
0:49:12 > 0:49:14TELEPHONE RINGING TONE
0:49:17 > 0:49:18Emergency.
0:49:18 > 0:49:20CALLER SPEAKS INDISTINCLY
0:49:20 > 0:49:21Where to?
0:49:21 > 0:49:23CALLER SPEAKS INDISTINCLY
0:49:23 > 0:49:24OK, whereabouts are you?
0:49:25 > 0:49:30You know Burtree? By the caravans there. I've just found him!
0:49:30 > 0:49:32I've just found him now!
0:49:45 > 0:49:47Give us two minutes, Graham.
0:49:56 > 0:50:00Hello, mate, it's Graham, ODS over at Bishop.
0:50:00 > 0:50:01Where exactly is the vehicle?
0:50:06 > 0:50:07Darren's car has been found
0:50:07 > 0:50:11in the centre of a densely wooded roundabout
0:50:11 > 0:50:12three and a half miles from the
0:50:12 > 0:50:14Darlington barbecue address.
0:50:19 > 0:50:22Emma and Andrew are unaware of the discovery.
0:50:26 > 0:50:28I just wish I could get in his mind and think what he's doing
0:50:28 > 0:50:29and what's going on.
0:50:32 > 0:50:36Someone... I don't know if he's got depression. You don't know, do you?
0:50:36 > 0:50:39I've had depression myself.
0:50:39 > 0:50:41And you just block everything else out.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46Everything else what's around you doesn't mean anything,
0:50:46 > 0:50:47you know what I mean?
0:50:47 > 0:50:51- You're in your own little world. - Yeah.
0:50:51 > 0:50:52I've been there.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57I've sorted myself out. You never know.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00It could be a number of things. You just...
0:51:00 > 0:51:02You don't know.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06I don't know at all.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08- OK?- Yeah.- Right.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14HE SIGHS
0:51:21 > 0:51:23Just this way.
0:51:25 > 0:51:29So we're approaching the scene now, but as you can see,
0:51:29 > 0:51:30we're on a dual carriageway there.
0:51:30 > 0:51:32It has been national speed limit
0:51:32 > 0:51:35up until the point that we've just passed.
0:51:35 > 0:51:39But it drops to a 50 because, you know,
0:51:39 > 0:51:43it's quite a severe bend on approach to the roundabout here.
0:51:43 > 0:51:47There's been quite a number of accidents in previous times. So...
0:51:47 > 0:51:52We can see we're just approaching the actual point now.
0:51:53 > 0:51:55Is he actually on the roundabout, then?
0:51:57 > 0:52:00Oh, yeah. I mean, there's some...
0:52:09 > 0:52:12All right. Let's go and have a look.
0:52:28 > 0:52:32- He's travelled some distance then, hasn't he?- He has. He has.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36- It is well hidden.- See where his car slid down?
0:52:36 > 0:52:38- Ah.- That's the wing mirror.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40Jeez.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44So he's actually been airborne and struck that there.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47So you're happy it's a traffic accident?
0:53:04 > 0:53:07- Hiya. Are you all right? - Hiya, yeah, are you?
0:53:07 > 0:53:09Yeah, yeah. Have you heard?
0:53:09 > 0:53:11I've heard that his vehicle's been found.
0:53:11 > 0:53:13Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:53:13 > 0:53:18I mean, it's his vehicle and there's a deceased male within,
0:53:18 > 0:53:21so it's going to be him.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23A deceased male in the car?
0:53:23 > 0:53:24- Yeah, yeah.- OK.
0:53:24 > 0:53:26To be fair, where he is,
0:53:26 > 0:53:29he's probably come straight from the party,
0:53:29 > 0:53:32and probably died within ten minutes, I suspect.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36The route he's taken,
0:53:36 > 0:53:41it is well hidden so it's unlikely anyone, you know,
0:53:41 > 0:53:45it's... He's obviously been travelling at a massive speed.
0:53:45 > 0:53:50- He's been airborne and hit a tree halfway up.- Wow.- So, yeah.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53Do you want me to stay here and then...?
0:53:53 > 0:53:55Yeah, just stay there.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58We'll sort out what we're going to do with the family afterwards.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01Yeah, yeah, the brother's just left, yeah.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03Right, OK, no problem.
0:54:31 > 0:54:34HE CRIES
0:54:41 > 0:54:45I still remember, it was absolutely bouncing with rain.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48I just knew it was fatal as soon as I seen that car.
0:54:48 > 0:54:50There was no way there was anybody coming away from that.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12I just felt like somebody had took my heart out
0:55:12 > 0:55:14and stuck a knife through it.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16It still feels like that now.
0:55:39 > 0:55:43The thing is, if I'd had that opportunity to help him,
0:55:43 > 0:55:45I would have helped him.
0:55:47 > 0:55:51I would have given him a cuddle and said, "We'll sort this.
0:55:51 > 0:55:53"We'll talk about it.
0:55:53 > 0:55:55"And we'll go and get some help."
0:55:59 > 0:56:00Talk to somebody...
0:56:01 > 0:56:02..cos it does work.
0:56:06 > 0:56:10Let your feelings go. Talk to somebody.
0:56:10 > 0:56:11Get some help.
0:56:13 > 0:56:14If you don't get the help...
0:56:19 > 0:56:21..anything can happen with that mind.
0:56:22 > 0:56:24It plays terrible tricks with you.
0:56:40 > 0:56:43He wouldn't want people to be sad.
0:56:43 > 0:56:45He wouldn't want people not being together.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48He'd want everybody getting on and being close.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50Cos that's what Darren loved.
0:56:50 > 0:56:52He loved it when everybody was together.
0:57:18 > 0:57:20In his younger days he was a para,
0:57:20 > 0:57:22so if he's suffering from a dementia episode,
0:57:22 > 0:57:25and he's reverted back to his days of thinking he's a para,
0:57:25 > 0:57:30- it isn't unusual for him to walk 20 miles.- Archie!