Mother's appeal to missing Hartlepool son on second anniversary of his disappearance

Hartlepool street entertainer Michael Scully was last seen in town on January 4, 2019.

The 39-year-old’s bank account has not been touched and his family have no idea why he has disappeared.

Now his mother, Susan Scully, 65, a works coach at Hartlepool Jobcentre Plus, has said: “If anyone knows anything then please get in touch with us or the police.

"If it is Michael himself, you do not have to phone. Just get a message to us to say you are safe.

"It could be through a friend of a friend. We just need to know you are alive.”

Mrs Scully last saw Michael, who lived in the Jesmond Road area of Hartlepool, at his aunty’s house on December 29, 2018, when “everything just seemed normal”.

She said: “Christmas has been awful. It is a hole in the family.

"We still miss him and we would love him to pick up the phone and say he is fine.”

Possible sightings of him as far away as London have come to nothing and his mother said a Cleveland Police search of Steetley Pier, in Hartlepool, during the summer of 2020 produced no evidence.

Mrs Scully, of Trimdon Station, said: “As long as we do not know for certain then we still have some hope.

"But we are realistic and the longer it goes on the less likely it is that he is going to turn up.

“It’s two years now and it is horrible because you do not have any closure.”

Michael attended St William’s Primary School, in Trimdon Village, and English Martyrs School and Sixth College, in Hartlepool, before briefly studying at university in Manchester.

He later became a relief pub manager before adopting an “alternative lifestyle” around a decade ago by busking, juggling and performing with fire.

Michael is known to travel to Manchester and London and is described as white, with brown eyes, of medium build and about 5ft 8in tall.

He often wears his brown hair collar length and has been known to have a beard.

Detective Inspector Ian White, of Cleveland Police, said: “Michael has not been found so this remains an active investigation.

“It’s hard to imagine how painful it is for Michael’s mother, and the rest of his family, to still not know where he is.

“Michael’s birthday is in December and his family have faced this without him, as well as Christmas without him there.

“We have explored a number of lines of enquiry and carried out searches in a number of areas of Hartlepool including the area of Steetley, but Michael has not been located.

“I’d appeal directly to anyone who has information on Michael’s whereabouts to please speak to police on 101.”

Police say it is not known whether he will now have a beard or be clean shaven, but he often wore his brown hair collar-length.

Anyone who can help is asked to call Cleveland Police on 101, quoting reference number SE19002784.

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