Paul Carter from Erdington, Birmingham was just 22yrs old when he went missing on an overnight Brittany ferry ‘Bretagne’ from Portsmouth to St Malo in France on 21 April 2007. He was travelling with three friends, who reported him missing when he failed to meet up with them when the ferry docked in St Malo at 7:15hrs. He was wearing a white shirt and jeans at the time and is described as white, about 5ft 10in tall, of slim to medium build with short dark hair that was cut in a short back and sides style, and brushed forward. He has a distinctive tattoo of a snake on his right arm. A note from Theresa Humphries (mother) “Our local police called when Paul went missing. They came and searched my home and garden. That I understood but was not nice. Then they did not know how to deal with the situation as Paul went missing in international waters so no one wanted to take responsibility. They pretty much left me on my own after that. My husband rang Brittany Ferry coastguard and other authorities, but because of Paul’s age they did not want to know due to confidentiality. I tried to ask for help with a media appeal. It was all arranged then little Maddie went missing so they cancelled my appeal. Another appeal was dropped, then bad winds resulted in the third arranged appeal to be stopped. People do not realise the hurt and pain this causes and it makes you feel that your child is not important. It took until Paul was missing 100 days before my appeal was taken seriously. The coastguards were really good with us, they told us that they knew the tides and that it was a quiet night therefore they were certain if he had gone overboard they would of found him or something belonging to him. A witness came forward via the French police, but nothing was done about it. The people he went with were asked to make statements, but they also felt they were not taken seriously. To add insult to injury, their statements were written in French and they were instructed to sign something they could not read with no interpreter present. The police also did not investigate the backgrounds of his travelling companions, nor was the vehicle they travelled in forensically searched. To my knowledge no local searches were performed at their destination point. There has been no further follow up from police. Personally I think there should be no age limit of a missing person. The word from the family who best know their loved one should be taken more seriously and their feelings given more consideration. It’s all left to the family to attempt to fix the jigsaw puzzle together and when this happens it exhausts us emotionally and physically. We have worked tirelessly to keep Paul’s name in the media to raise awareness of his disappearance.” If you have any information, please contact Lucie Blackman Trust. From the UK call their central freephone information line on 0800 098 8485. Calls are free from landlines but may be charged from mobiles. From overseas call (+44) 800 098 8485 (costs incurred). Alternatively email ops@lbtrust.org. Missing People charity run a confidential 24/7 freephone helpline. Phone or text 116 000 quoting reference number 07-007633. Lucie Blackman Trust support: http://www.lbtrust.org/single-post/2007/04/21/Paul-Carter Missing People: http://www.missingpeople.org.uk/help-us-find/paul-carter-07-007633 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/43132134251/ #FindPaulCarter #DamiensLaw