Cowes resident, Kaley Hall, admits that she never knew missing teenager Damien Nettles or his family, but after hearing that police would not search two possible locations in Parkhurst Forest and one in Gurnard where his body may be buried, she felt compelled to raise awareness of the situation and has organised a protest march.
The peaceful march is planned for Saturday, 8 December 2012. It starts at 10am from Cineworld and will take the route past McDonald’s, St James’ Square, High Street and finishing outside Newport Police Station.
“It’s the right thing to do”
Kaley says, “I have never had any gripes with the police, nor have I ever been in any trouble with them, I’m just a regular mum who has lived in Cowes for over 30 years.
“I’ve never done anything like this before, I am doing this for no other reason than it’s the right thing to do.”
“How would you feel?”
Kaley asks others to consider how they would feel if it were their child who’d been missing for 16 years.
“Imagine you are told of three possible locations where he could be lying, waiting to be found, how would you feel if you were then told by the police that having looked into all evidence they wouldn’t be searching these areas?” she said.
Peace of mind
It is for this reason, she says, that she’s asking the Island community to show they are supporting Damien’s family taking part in the march.
Damien’s sister, Sarah Nettles said, “For our family’s peace of mind, and for the sake of my brother who deserves to be found, we need to know whether or not we can check this location off of the list. We need to know if his remains are there or not. And if they are, we need to be able to finally lay him to rest.”
Petition to dig
A petition was launched back in May urging police to explore possible burial sites in Parkhurst Forest, one of which the family had been informed of through paranormal means.
The petition has gathered over 1,000 signatures so far.
Senior investigating officer Superintendent David Powell said at the time, “Whilst we appreciate and encourage the support of the public to help us to solve crimes, detectives in this case will not act on information from séances. Police must act on tangible sources, which can be checked and verified in line with established police procedures.
“Hampshire Constabulary will always value genuine efforts to pass on information that may prove helpful to police in their enquiries. However, to date, no firm evidence has been provided to police by clairvoyants or séances.”
More information
Updates on the march can be found on the Justice for Damien Facebook event page.
Anyone with information about the Damien Nettles case can contact Hampshire Constabulary by phoning 101 or emailing [email protected]
Mini-Com users can call 01962 875000.
