‘We believe they’re still in the surrounding area and we’re doing everything we can to locate them as quickly as possible.’

*

From the Devonshire Herald, 20 August 2002

Massive search underway to locate three missing walkers

Police have expanded their search of Rutmoor National Park in an attempt to locate the whereabouts of two 13-year-old boys and one adult who have now been missing for over 48 hours.

The trio of walkers has not been seen since Saturday night, when they became separated from their walking group in the northern part of the moor during a storm.

Three of their companions, Matthew Fisher, Timothy Stevens and James Tramper, all 13, were rescued from Creek Lane on Sunday afternoon. They have all now been discharged from Rutmoor Community Hospital and are reunited with their families.

The search for Thomas Carpenter, Gareth Roberts and George Stevens, meanwhile, was expanded on Monday morning to include the entire expanse of north Rutmoor.

All four Rutmoor emergency rescue teams are involved, and volunteers from the local community have been called in to help.

‘We have boat teams covering the water areas of the moor, and we’ve been widening our search area since Monday morning,’ a spokesperson for Rutmoor Search and Rescue Team said. ‘Hundreds of people are currently helping us look.

‘We’d encourage anyone who thinks they may have seen any of these people to contact us as soon as possible.’

The Devonshire Herald reached out to the families of Matthew Fisher, Timothy Stevens, and James Tramper, but none were available for comment.

2015

Friday, Part Two

They pull in to the usual car park just after one.

James finds a parking space – it’s not hard; even though it’s a Friday, the car park is only half-full – and switches off the engine. He looks at Matt and nods, then pats a large hand firmly against Matt’s shoulder.

They find him at the far end of the car park. He’s wearing a North Face jacket and fiddling in his rucksack, and for a minute Matt thinks he looks just like his father. The thought makes him feel ill.

‘Tim.’

When he looks up and shields his eyes from the sun – it’s a surprisingly clear day for Rutmoor, and there are hardly any clouds in the sky – he sees them and grins.

‘Bloody hell, there they are!’

Matt feels a smile forming on his face. He glances at James and sees that he’s smiling, too. The three boys come together in the dusty car park, the same car park they’ve been meeting at on and off for the past decade or more, and they hug each other like old friends. Matt supposes they are old friends, in a weird way.