Police are digging up land next to a motorway in search of a man who has been missing for almost 25 years after detectives received information to suggest he may have been murdered and buried there.
Steven Preston, 23, disappeared after leaving his home in Heath Road, Bebington, on the Wirral on 18 September 1992. He was last seen by his mother, who said he had left home without his jacket or prescription for medication he had been taking. They had not argued, she said.
Despite inquiries made at the time, Preston was never found.
Officers have received information to suggest he may have been killed and buried in an area of land near to junction 5 of the M53.
The search in the Eastham area on the Wirral was “painstaking” and “extensive”, according to Merseyside police.
Supt Ian Hassall said: “Steven’s sister Jane is aware of the information that has been received and is aware that we are conducting this search. Jane is still anxious to find out what happened to her brother after all these years.”
Jane Preston said: “My little brother went missing over 20 years ago. He lived in Bebington all his life. Bebington was a much smaller place than it is now and everybody knew everyone.
“He adored my mum and it destroyed her when he disappeared. She knew instantly that he wouldn’t have just left never to contact her again and that something awful must have happened to him.”
Hassell said: “The question still remains: where is Steven Preston? A young man in his 20s doesn’t just leave home and vanish into thin air. Somebody somewhere must know where he is or what happened to him, and I would urge them to contact us as soon as possible.”
