Family of missing Skelmersdale man Michael Fleming appeal for information from the public

Feb 9 2012 by Tom Duffy, Skelmersdale Advertiser

A SKELMERSDALE woman who fears her missing brother is dead has said that her family want to bury his body so they can end their ‘agony.’

Joanne Pettener last saw her brother Michael Fleming on July 22 2010 at her house in Crossfield Road in Digmoor.

Despite several police appeals Michael has repeatedly failed to contact his sister and missed a succession of family birthdays, including his own children’s.

Joanne told the Advertiser that she believes her brother is dead and that his body may be ‘rotting away’ somewhere.

Joanne said: “I am confident that Michael has come to harm and is dead. Now we want his body back.

“Someone told the police that his body is in North Wales, and the thought of him just rotting away somewhere is agony for us.

“Somebody will know what happened to Michael and where his body is.

“We can then bury his body and move on with our lives.”

When Michael disappeared he lived at Fairstead, Birch Green, and was 34.

Joanne, 43, added that her whole family including dad Jake, brothers Allan and Andrew and sister Angela are distraught.

When Michael went missing, Joanne initially believed that he may be staying with friends in the Skelmersdale area,.

She said that Michael was very much a ‘a homing pigeon’ and that his disappearance was unnatural.

Joanne who is married to Steve and has three children, also told the Advertiser that the dad of two had lost his home, partner and job because of heavy drinking at the time of his disappearance.

She added: “Michael would not go this long without contacting his family if he alive.

“He used to buy me flowers, but not any more.”

A police spokesman said, “This is still a live enquiry and any new pieces of information will be looked at.

“We have already carried out a large number of different actions including checking cctv, searching areas of land with specially trained police dogs, and carried out a leaflet drop.

“If anyone does have any information in relation to the disappearance of Mr Fleming then we would urge them to come forward and contact the police by calling 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”