Chelmsford: CCTV appeal in Timothy Hatcher search

Wednesday 18 January

Our search for missing man Timothy Hatcher is continuing and, as part of that, specialist officers are searching an area close to the A1114, close to the Army and Navy roundabout in Chelmsford.

Timothy, 69 and from Chelmsford, was last seen on 18 December and reported missing two days later.

He’s vulnerable and receives support from carers multiple times each day.

A significant investigation has been carried out to find Timothy including widespread searches in and around Chelmsford, CCTV enquiries, analysing phone and financial data, and carrying out house-to-house enquiries.

As a result of that work, we now have a new confirmed sighting of Timothy, later on 18 December.

We now know Timothy attended The Star pub, in Baddow Road, before going to the Aldi store, off Parkway.

We can now also release CCTV footage of him outside that Aldi. This is now the last confirmed sighting of Timothy and our search will continue in that area today, Wednesday 18 January. That footage is available on our social media.

As part of that search, one lane of the eastbound A1114, Essex Yeomanry Way, has been closed today. 

We appreciate the lane closure may lead to some congestion in the area, but we hope motorists will appreciate this is will allow officers to continue their search for Timothy.

We would also ask that our officers are not disturbed whilst carrying out their important work.

Detective Superintendent Scott Egerton said:

“Since Timothy’s disappearance, we have been running a significant search operation to give us the best chance of finding him.
“Thanks to that tireless work, we have now been able to piece together the latter part of Timothy’s day on 18 December.
“We know from this work that Timothy appeared to be disorientated at the time and of course our concerns for him continue to grow.
“I would again ask for anyone who believes they could have information on Timothy’s whereabouts to please come forward and speak to us.”

If you have any information, CCTV, dash cam or other footage in relation to this incident, then please get in contact with us.

Please quote incident 754 of 20 December.

You can let us know by submitting a report on our website or by using our online Live Chat service available Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) between 10am-9pm.

Visit our website to find out more about our online reporting services.

Alternatively you can call us on 101.

In an emergency always call 999.

If you would like to make an anonymous report you can contact independent charity @Crimestoppers, by visiting their website or by calling 0800 555 111.

Saturday 7 January

A man who had been arrested as part of our efforts to find missing man Timothy Hatcher has been released on bail.

Timothy, 69 and from Chelmsford, was last seen on 18 December and reported missing two days later.

He’s vulnerable and receives support from carers multiple times each day.

A significant investigation has been carried out to find Timothy including widespread searches in and around Chelmsford, CCTV enquiries, analysing phone and financial data, and carrying out house-to-house enquiries.

A man who had been arrested as part of those enquiries has now been released on bail.

At this stage, Timothy remains missing, and we are continuing to appeal to the public to for help to find him.

Detective Superintendent Scott Egerton, who is overseeing the investigation, said:

“Quite clearly, we remain incredibly concerned for Timothy’s welfare; he has not been seen for almost three weeks.
“We have a team of officers working round the clock in order to piece together Timothy’s known movements, including aspects of his financial life and his phone use.
“Unfortunately, at this stage he remains missing and we continue to focus a great deal of effort in trying to locate him.
“The eyes and ears of the public are incredibly important to this investigation and I would urge anyone who believes they could have information on Timothy’s whereabouts – no matter how small that is – to please contact us.
Anyone with any information, CCTV, dash cam or other footage in relation to this incident, should contact us as soon as possible."

Officers looking for Timothy Hatcher are urging the public to stay vigilant and report any information about his disappearance as we approach three weeks since he was last seen.

Timothy, 69, was last seen on 18 December and reported missing two days later.

He’s vulnerable and receives support from carers multiple times each day.

A significant investigation has been carried out to find Timothy including widespread searches in and around Chelmsford, CCTV enquiries, analysing phone and financial data, and carrying out house-to-house enquiries.

Detective Superintendent Scott Egerton said:

“This Sunday will mark three weeks since Timothy went missing and our concerns for him grow with each passing day that he’s not been found.

“We remain open-minded about why Timothy has gone missing, what’s happened to him, and where he is.

“We believe there may be new possibilities for people to see or recognise something unusual as they go about their daily lives as they return to work, start taking their children back to school, and taking journeys they may not have done over the Christmas period.

“I also still need people to check door bell and CCTV footage dating back to 18 December.

“If you have any information about where he is, no matter how insignificant you believe it is, I need you to contact us.”

As part of our enquiries, a 50 year-old man has been arrested in connection with our enquiries.

He is currently in custody and helping with our enquiries.

Tuesday 3 January

We’re no longer trying to identify a man who we would like to speak to in connection with our search for Timothy Hatcher, who has been missing from Chelmsford for more than two weeks.

A man has been identified and our enquiries are ongoing.

We continue to carry out extensive enquiries in order to locate Timothy, 69, and we would again appeal to the public to please report any sightings to us as soon as possible.

Timothy, 69 was last seen on Sunday, 18 December and reported missing two days later.

Detective Superintendent Scott Egerton said:

“This has been an extensive investigation which has encompassed many areas of the force and we are continuing to do everything possible to find Timothy.
“The support from the public since we launched our appeals on Timothy’s disappearance has been fantastic and I’d like to thank everyone who has helped.
“Clearly, our concerns are continuing to grow each day for Timothy every day he remains outstanding and we are using a significant number of officers across the force to find him.
“I would urge everyone in Essex to please report any sightings of Timothy to us as soon as they happen; doing that gives us the best possible chance of locating him safely.”

If you’ve seen Timothy or have any information about where he is, please call us on 101 immediately.

Always dial 999 in an emergency.

Our officers are continuing to search for Timothy Hatcher, who hasn’t been seen in almost two weeks. 

Timothy, 69 was last seen on Sunday, 18 December and reported missing two days later.

Officers have been following a number of enquiries so far, as part of a large-scale missing persons investigation.

As well as this, our specialist officers with Essex Search and Rescue (ESAR) have searched over 4 square miles including areas of Hylands Park, Meadgate Avenue and around the River Chelmer.  In addition a 4km stretch of the River Chelmer has been searched by canoe.  ESAR have provided 375 person hours of search involving 31 individual volunteers whose help we’re really grateful for.

These efforts to find Timothy will continue over the weekend and we are asking for anyone who has any information, who we haven’t spoken to already to contact us.

Detective Superintendent Scott Egerton said “This has been an extensive investigation so far and we are continuing to do everything possible to find Timothy.

“The support from the public has been fantastic and I’d like to thank the members of the community who have contacted us with information so far.

“We know Timothy is a keen birdwatcher and his areas of choice are in Baddow, around the A1114, Hylands Park, and the Meadgate Avenue areas and he often wears a distinctive yellow high-viz jacket. We have already released images of him wearing that item.

"If you’ve seen Timothy or have any information about where he is, please call us on 101 immediately.”

Officers looking for Timothy Hatcher are urging birdwatchers to check hides in and around the Chelmsford area.

Sixty-nine year-old Timothy was last seen more than 10 days ago and reported missing from his home, where he receives support from carers, on 20 December.

He was last seen in the Co-op in Meadgate Avenue at around 2.40pm on 18 December.

He’s a regular birdwatcher and we’re asking for help from the birdwatching community.

Detective Superintendent Scott Egerton said:

“We’re really worried about Timothy.

“He’s vulnerable, has dementia, and receives care at his home multiple times each day.

“Timothy’s a keen birdwatcher and it’s possible he may have gone to, and be in, a hide.

“So I need the birdwatching community in Chelmsford to check hides to see if Timothy is there or if there’s anything to indicate he may have been there recently.

“We’ve carried out a wide-ranging investigation to find Timothy which extensive searches by specialist officers and volunteers from Essex Search and Rescue, whose help we’re really grateful for.

“We’ve issued multiple public appeals for help and carried out house-to-house, financial, and life-style enquiries.

“I need the public’s help to find him – if you’ve seen him, are with him, or have any information about where he is, I need you to contact us.”

Key appeal points:

• Timothy was last seen in the Co-op in Meadgate Avenue at around 2.40pm on 18 December – did you see him?
• He often wears a distinctive yellow high-viz jacket and a black beanie-style hat;
• He often frequents the area of Baddow around the A1114, Meadgate, and Hylands Park – have you seen him?
• If you leave in the Meadgate Avenue area, please check your CCTV or doorbell footage to see if Timothy has walked passed your address

If you have any information, please call us on 999.

Specialist officers are continuing to search for Timothy Hatcher, who has not been seen for more than a week.

Timothy, 69, was last seen on Sunday 18 December, and reported missing two days later.

The last sighting we have of him is in the Co-op in Meadgate Avenue, Chelmsford, at about 2.40pm on 18 December.

We are following a number of lines of enquiry and, today, our focus has been in the Meadgate Avenue and Hylands Park areas.

During the day, specialist officers have been carrying out detailed searches of those areas. That work will continue into the evening.

Chief Inspector Colin Cox said:

“Timothy is an extremely vulnerable man and he relies on carers to support him each day. It is very unusual for him to be out of contact for so long and, naturally, our concerns for him are growing each day.
“We know Timothy is a keen birdwatcher and his areas of choice are in Baddow, around the A1114, Hylands Park, and the Meadgate Avenue areas and he often wears a distinctive yellow high-viz jacket. We have already released images of him wearing that item.
“We’re really worried about Timothy, and we aim to find him as soon as possible to make sure he’s ok.
“If anyone has any information that could help us – not matter how small or insignificant you believe it is – please contact us.
“I would also urge people who live around the A1114, Hylands Park and Meadgate Avenues area to check their doorbell footage to see if Timothy has passed their homes.”

If you’ve seen Timothy or have any information about where he is, please call us on 101 immediately.

Always dial 999 in an emergency.

Officers looking for Timothy Hatcher, who hasn’t been seen for more than a week, are releasing images of a man we think may know him.

Timothy, 69, was last seen on Sunday 18 December, and reported missing two days later.

The last sighting we have of him is in the Co-op in Meadgate Avenue at around 2.40pm on 18 December.

Through our investigation we’ve established Timothy was in JD Sports buying a pair of trainers in the company of another man on 3 December.

We want to identify this man as we believe he may be a friend or acquaintance of Timothy and so may be able to help us with our investigation to find him.

Chief Inspector Ella Latham said:

“Timothy has been missing for some time now and our concerns for him grow with every passing day he’s not found.

“He’s vulnerable, has dementia and relies on carers to support him each day.

“Timothy’s a keen birdwatcher and we know he likes to go the area of Baddow around the A1114, Hylands Park, and the Meadgate Avenue area.

“He often goes out wearing a distinctive yellow high-viz jacket and we have released photos of him wearing it.

“We’re really worried about Timothy and need to find him to make sure he’s ok so if you have any information that could help us – not matter how small or insignificant you believe it is – you must contact us”

If you’ve seen him, are with him or have any information about where he is please call us on 999 quoting incident 754 of 20 December.

We also need the public to check their CCTV and doorbell cameras to see if Timothy has been passed their homes.

Officers looking for Timothy Hatcher, who’s been missing in Chelmsford for nearly a week, are releasing a CCTV image of him from the day he went missing.

We’ve now established he was in the Co-op in Meadgate Avenue, Chelmsford at around 2.40pm last Sunday (18 December).

He was wearing a black beanie-style hat, a yellow high-viz coat and a black bag worn over one shoulder.

Timothy regularly wears the high-viz coat when he’s out so would be distinctive.

We know if he often frequents the Baddow area around the A1114 and Hylands Park, and also believe there’s a possibility he may have been in the Wickford area in the last week.

We believe it’s possible he may travel by bus.

If you’ve seen him, are with him or have any information about where he is please call us on 999.

We also need the public to check their CCTV and doorbell cameras to see if Timothy has been passed their homes.

Chief Superintendent Claire Talbot said:

“We’re really worried about Timothy.

“It’s been nearly a week since he was last seen and we believe he’s vulnerable.

“Please, check your CCTV, check your doorbell cameras, rack your memory.

“If you think you’ve seen him, if you have any information no matter how insignificant you think it is, I need you to contact us.”