Man in Cambridgeshire bodiless murder investigation may be alive

Ricardas Puisys, who was 35 at the time he went missing, was last seen at his place of work at Nightlayer Leek Company in Dean Drove, Iretons Way, Chatteris, on 26 September 2015.

Despite multiple public appeals to find him, police have been unable to trace him and believe he may have been murdered - although a body was never recovered.

But now a Facebook account has been set up in his name and photographs of a man believed to be Ricardas have been posted on it.

Detective Chief Inspector Adam Gallop, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: “For the past four years Ricardas’ disappearance has been a complete mystery.

“My team have followed up a number of inquiries, however we still do not know what has happened to him. This investigation initially began as a missing person inquiry, however very early on it was clear to us there were no signs of life and we were concerned Ricardas had been murdered.

“Early on in the investigation we had information that Ricardas had come to some harm, as a consequence one person was arrested on suspicion of murder however there was insufficient evidence to charge.

“To this day we have not found his body, nor have we found any evidence telling us he is alive, that was until last summer.

“A Facebook account has been set up in his name and photographs of who we believe to be Ricardas have been posted. We have been trying to make contact with the person behind this account, but are yet to establish whether Ricardas is alive.

“Our inquiries inform us the Facebook page is being accessed and managed from somewhere in Wisbech but we have not yet been able to pinpoint an exact location.”

Members of the public, specifically the Lithuanian community in Wisbech, are being urged to contact police if they have any information whatsoever about Ricardas’ whereabouts, no matter how insignificant it may seem.

DCI Gallop added: “Whether Ricardas is alive or not, someone knows what has happened to him. Please do the right thing and come forward.”

Anyone with information can submit it online at https://mipp.police.uk/operation/35SA020115C09-PO1 (English) or https://mipp.police.uk/operation/35SA020115C09-PO2 (Lithuanian).

If you would prefer to speak to someone directly please call 101 and quote Operation Laysan, or dial 01480 425883 but note this number is not monitored 24 hours a day, however you will be able to leave a voice message and a member of the enquiry team will call you back. Alternatively you can call the independent charity, Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111 or go online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.