Update: Following confusion of how the message about the death of a ‘Michael’ was posted on the forum, it was thought that the Michael referred to was Mike46 and that the message had been posted by his family (as has previously happened with Farmersboy).
We check all of our stories, but with the news of a suicide in the family, we clearly weren’t going to pester those we thought were recently bereaved.
Mike46 has just informed us that he is alive and well and was referring to a friend of his with the same christian name. Obviously we are pleased that Mike46 is alive and well, and continue to extend our condolences to Michael Dare’s family.
It is with great sadness that we learned last week that a regular reader of VentnorBlog and contributor to the VentnorBlog forum was found dead on Monday night.
Police have confirmed that Michael John Dare, aged 55, of Market Street, Ventnor, otherwise known as Mike46 on the forum, was found by a member of the public on Monday night and that they are investigating the death on behalf of the Coroner. They are not treating the death as suspicious.
Our experience of Mike was that he was a caring and considerate man, who from the message left below, was clearly very troubled and found life too hard to bear.We were made aware of this tragic news when someone close to Mike used his forum account to share the news with other readers.
Our thoughts are with all of Mike’s family and friends at this sad time.
The sentiments expressed below in relation to those on their own, is one that we should all consider not just at Christmas but throughout the year.
Message: 26 Nov 2008 06:56 pm Post subject: RIP
Christmas is a hellish time for people on there own.But sometimes even when one is surrounded by family and friends they can be lonely sometimes with tragic results.Michael was not born and bred in Ventnor. He spent his life being chased by demons living rough on the streets of Leeds and London. When his brother found him he gave him a new start in Ventnor. After that went wrong friends gave him a room.
On Monday the 24th. the demons finally caught up with Michael He ended his life alone in a garage in Ventnor. Michaels story is a tragic one but I will leave the telling of it to others.
If you know someone who is on there own please don’t turn the other cheek. Don’t let them despair like Michael.
On behalf of his friends and family I want to say a big thank you to the Police, ambulance personnel, Sevenacres and Probation Service.
Finally to the anonymous people who left flowers at the scene,this is appreciated more than you can imagine.
Brian,Michael,Charlotte,Michelle,Rob and Holly
Image: Courtesy of Julian Winslow
