Six months later, the police are pausing the investigation after no new evidence has come to light on what happened to Ashley Wilbraham from Rhayader.
The 38-year-old was last seen walking towards Ynyslas beach at around 7pm on Sunday 23 February.
Ashley, who was under the influence of alcohol, went to find his son, who he thought was missing on the beach.
His son Riley, 15, was quickly found at a bus stop, but as the hours rolled by Ashley didn’t return.
His two teenage children, mum, sister and brothers just want to know what’s happened to him.
Mum Janine Wilbraham said: “Every day is dreadful - you go to bed thinking, where is he?
“You wake up thinking where is he?
“Has he lost his memory?
“Does he not know where we are?
“So my partner and I come up here every week at least, just looking in case he turns back up here.”
A helicopter and RNLI inshore lifeboat were used in the search, as well as Borth, Aberdyfi and New Quay Coastguard Rescue Teams assisting police.
His family had been holidaying in Borth when the incident took place.
When the alarm was raised that evening, his brothers and sister drove down from Rhayader to help with the search using their thermal imaging cameras.
Kane Pickering, Ashley’s brother, and his twin took kayaks out and searched from Ynyslas to Clarach for seven hours looking in coves and using drones to find any sign of Ashley: “On the one hand you wanted to find him, but then dreaded if we did find him because he would have passed away in a cave so it was a horrible seven hours, but I needed to be done – at least we knew he wasn't there.”
Returning to Ynyslas every day, and then every week after Ashley went missing, Janine puts up missing posters, visits homeless shelters and asks locals if there’s been any sign of Ashley, who went missing without his phone or wallet.
The family thought they had answers in March - two weeks after Ashley went missing, a body was found on Fairbourne beach, but police identified the person as a 72-year-old male.
Six weeks later, someone thought he was spotted at a bus station in Aberystwyth.
The family met with the Cambrian News to show the exact point Ashley went out of sight on a footpath opposite the Searivers Caravan Park.
At a fork in the footpath, they lose him - not knowing if he turned left towards the boardwalk or right into the dunes.
They spoke of the case of Athrun, the 16-year-old whose body was found on a beach four days after he went missing in Llandudno this May.
They wonder why, if Ashley was taken by the sea, he hasn’t been returned to them.
Searching for answers, one psychic told the family his body was stuck in water in Ireland, whilst another said he was alive and would come back in his own time.
The tide patterns on the Welsh coast mean an unusually high number of bodies wash up on north Wales beaches, catching bodies all the way from Ireland.
In 2010, a special North Wales Police operation was created to identify the many bodies that had washed up in North Wales.
DS Don Kenyon from North Wales police explained: “Wales has got a lot of coastline, so we seem to get a disproportionate amount of coastal finds.
“The way the tidal floods work in the area, Anglesey and Llŷn peninsula get in the way, and people end up washed up on the beaches for that reason.”
According to the National Crime Agency UK Missing Persons Unit, 88.3 per cent of missing people are located within 48 hours, adding that only “a small percentage suffer a fatal outcome, whether that is because of a serious crime, suicide, accident, or misadventure.”
Until Ashley is found, sister Jayshea Jones said the family is being “left in limbo”: “We have no idea if he is alive or if he's dead.
“It's just so hard to know what's happened to him.
“We've not had a body to get closure; it’s awful.
“His son blames himself for the night he went missing, which is not his fault, and his daughter is just trying to get through as best she can.”
At first, the family felt taken care of by the police, the phone calls stopped as time passed and the investigation has now been paused.
A spokesperson from Dyfed-Powys Police said: “Officers have exhausted all possible lines of enquiry to locate Ashley, and the investigation has been paused in the absence of any outstanding investigative opportunities.
“The family have been informed that although the investigation has been paused, it can be resumed should any new evidence or lines of enquiry come to light.”
Janine calls for “anyone who may know anything or who have seen him” to get in touch, including items of clothing he was wearing - described as slim build, 6’2, with brown hair, wearing jeans and a blue and white jumper.
Have you seen Ashley or have information that might help us find him? Please let us know:
📞| 101
Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555111, or visiting crimestoppers-uk.org.
Quote reference 369 of the 23rd February.
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