Police can't rule out wanted Havant man Trevor McCurdy is dead but say he had 'access to large amount of cash'

Alleged paedophile Trevor McCurdy, 69, attended two days of his trial at Portsmouth Crown Court in mid-May where he was accused of molesting two girls before mysteriously disappearing.

Crimestoppers are offering a £1,000 reward to anyone who provides information leading to his arrest after nearly six weeks of failing to show up at court.

An apparent sighting in Fleet on Saturday turned out to be false as the hunt to find the fugitive continues.

Det Insp Gemma Hunter, speaking outside Portsmouth Crown Court, said: ‘Unfortunately the usual lines of enquiry we would take for someone who’s wanted haven’t proven us to be able to locate him.

‘We are aware he has had access to a fairly large amount of cash helping to maintain himself under the radar for as long as has.

‘We have concerns over his own safety and concerns for the public which is why we are going public.’

When asked if McCurdy could be dead, the inspector said: ‘There is always the possibility. However, we have no information at the moment to suggest he is not alive.

‘We need to locate him as soon as possible.’

McCurdy does have links to north Hampshire and to Chichester but there is ‘no intelligence at the moment to suggest where he might be’, Det Insp Hunter said.

‘There is a possibility he could be Havant. But our appeals have attracted a lot of attention so if he was still in Havant I would have hoped we would have had a sighting of him by now,’ she added.

Asked why McCurdy was proving so difficult to catch, she added: ‘This is quite unusual and I do think there is an element of planning on his behalf which gives him the opportunity to be a few steps ahead of us.

‘If he has maintained access to cash that limits the opportunity we have in terms of digital footprint to be able to track them that way. Enquiries are ongoing but with the public’s eyes and ears too will only prove to assist us in our search for him.’

McCurdy faces five charges of sexual assault of a girl under 13, three involving touching and two of penetration, between 2020 and 2021.

He is also on trial for alleged offences between 1988-90. This relates to five counts of indecent assault of a girl under 16.

He denies the charges.

McCurdy is about 6ft, of a medium build, has grey hair and previously had a grey moustache and beard, although he might have shaved this off.

He sometimes wears dark rimmed glasses, is known to wear a flat cap and is likely to be in casual clothes

He has a tattoo that says ‘Mum and Dad’ in a swallow on his right forearm and a tattoo of a horse’s head on his left forearm, and a large scar down the middle of his chest.

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Only information passed to Crimestoppers via www.crimestoppers-uk.org or via 0800 555 111 will be eligible for a reward.

Contact police on 101.