Disappearance Of Chad Gibson

Chad Gibson, then 32, was last seen on December 19, 2015, in Newquay, Cornwall. He was in a pub with a friend but left around 6 p.m. after seemingly having a confrontation with a group of men over a woman he had recently met.

Chad left his St Austell home at 10:30 am on Saturday, December 19th. He was seen on CCTV in Central Square in Newquay, leaving The Central pub and crossing the road to Bank Street with two men (identified) shortly after 5:10 p.m.

 

The group returned to The Central shortly after, and Chad finally left the pub on his own shortly before 6 p.m. He was seen walking up Fore Street towards Tower Road and Headland Road.

 

Chad's life before his disappearance:

 

Chad grew up in West London before moving to Cornwall, where his father resided, at the age of 17.

 

“He was very polite and a real boy to mum,” recalls his mom Sharon. “He was very affectionate and very popular with a lot of people. Everyone loved him.

 

The teenager quickly settled into the outdoor lifestyle. “He wore his shorts and flip flops all the time,” Sharon continued. “He loved surfing, going to the beach, he loved nature walks. He would walk for hours.

 

Sharon then followed her son to Cornwall and settled in St Austell, near Newquay.

 

In his mid-twenties, Chad had welcomed a girl. While his relationship with his mother did not last, he remained an active father.

 

“The relationship between his daughter's mother and him had broken down, but they were still friends and he always contacted his daughter and took her out, and did the things fathers do,” said Sharon.

 

The disappearance of Chad:

At the time of his disappearance, Chad was single, happy, and looking forward to the year ahead.

 

“He was just waiting to have a new apartment in Newquay, which was closer to his daughter's school, and he was very glad about it,” his mother Sharon said. “He had things to look forward to in January. Lots to look forward to.

 

The day before he vanished, Chad exuberantly told his mother that he had met a woman the night before and that he "really loved her".

 

The next morning, the last Saturday before Christmas, Chad had planned to visit the small town of St Austell.

 

 

"And it started to rain and I said to him, 'Do you want an umbrella? He said "no" and he told, "see you later". And that's the last time I saw my son. It was about eleven o'clock.

 

Chad didn't come home that night, but Sharon thought he was "having fun like everyone else this time of year."

 

“It's not rare for Chad to hook up with friends and come home the next day. So I assumed he would be back either that night, or Sunday, or Monday at the latest.

 

But the days came and went, and Chad still hasn't come home. Sharon started to panic but began to comfort herself that he was just having a good time with friends.

 

It was Christmas Day, after Chad failed to make contact, that Sharon recognized something was wrong.

 

“I panicked, I didn't get a message or a 'Merry Christmas mom' or anything,” she recalls.

 

Sharon, who had spent Christmas with her daughter in Watford, returned to St Austell on Boxing Day.

 

“There was no sign of him, he wasn't home at all,” she said.

 

Chad has been reported missing to the police but the case has not been dealt with as significant, according to Sharon. Authorities thought he was just doing

 

Officers thought he was simply partying over the festive season. 

 

The following days and weeks felt like a 'dream', Sharon said. 'You just think, "this is not occurring to me, this is not happening to me". My heart was breaking. I just wished to know my son was okay.' 

 

After a social media appeal, Sharon learned her son had been in The Central pub in Newquay on the day he vanished. 

 

Chad had been talking to a friend about the woman he had met when he was overheard by a man claiming to be the woman's 'on-off' boyfriend. 

 

Chad reportedly attempted to diffuse the problem, apologizing to the man and explaining that he didn't know she was in a relationship. 

 

The man and his friends reportedly followed Chad into the toilet where there was a confrontation. The men also allegedly took a photo of Chad. 

 

'I find that very, very weird,' said Sharon. 'Why would you take a photo of my son?'

 

Chad left the pub at around 6 pm and was captured by CCTV as he crossed the road. He was never seen again. 

 

'How can you disappear off the face of the Earth?' asked Sharon. 'Somebody must have seen something.' 

 

Sharon believes that her son might have been killed, but said she wants to know either way.