Specialist diver Peter Faulding – who claimed to find Nicola Bulley within minutes – has joined the search for a missing man in Chippenham.
Sebastian Sailes was last seen leaving The Black Horse pub in the town centre twelve days ago, at around 11.30pm on Thursday 27 February.
He is believed to have entered Lovers Walk and continued on the path alongside the River Avon towards his home in the village of Notton, near Lacock.
However, the 21-year-old never arrived home – and police are now frantically searching for him. The focus appears to be the water.
This morning (Monday), Specialist Group International (SGI) arrived to assist, with CEO Peter Faulding – known for his work on the Nicola Bulley case – also in attendance.
Five red SGI rescue vehicles were spotted responding along the A350 in Chippenham at around 10am – before pulling up near the River Avon.
Peter walked along the river assessing the scene before getting into water rescue kit and assembling his team.
While Wiltshire Police officers have passed brief exchanges, they don’t appear to be working together. The SGI team are operating away from police.
Avon and Somerset Police are also on scene, with a dive team in the water.
Following the search for Nicola Bulley, a College of Policing report said police felt some of Peter’s behaviour “caused challenges to the investigation”.
But the forensic underwater search expert remained adamant that he found Nicola in the water using sonar equipment within minutes.
The family of Sebastian Sailes issued a heartfelt statement on 5 March.
They said: “We are a very close family and are all extremely anxious and praying for the safe return of our much-loved son Sebastian.
“We are unbelievably grateful for the efforts of the police and all the amazing volunteers.
“The public support has been heart-warming, and we appeal to anyone who may have information to contact Wiltshire Police immediately, in the hope that our beautiful boy is returned to us safe and sound.”
At the same time, County Chief Inspector Ben Huggins added: “We continue to appeal for anyone who may have seen Sebastian or have knowledge of his whereabouts to get in touch.
“Many of our enquiries have taken place around the river but we are also investigating the possibility that he has made his way towards Rowden Hill and through the new estates.
“If you live in that area and you have any Ring Doorbell footage from around the time he disappeared to check it for any sign of him.”
He continued: “Delivery drivers or taxi drivers would also have been out in Chippenham at around that time and we would please ask that you check your Dash Cams for any sign of him.
“I would also like to thank the volunteers from Wiltshire Search and Rescue and other search agencies from the south who have come to the area for the time and energy they have put into the search for missing Seb.”
