Royal Navy: Police search to find missing sailor Simon Parkes who disappeared 37 years ago in Gibraltar ends

Radio operator Simon Parkes was serving on the Portsmouth-based warship HMS Illustrious before he disappeared in December 1986. The sailor, from Bristol, went missing while the vessel was docked in Gibraltar at just 18-years-old. Police forces have been looking for him ever since, with a fresh call for witnesses being issued last month.

Officers are pursuing a "new line of enquiry". Excavation work was carried out at the Town Range Car Park and Trafalgar Cemetery in the British Overseas Territory on Monday (January 15). A team of eight officers from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary were joined by personnel from the Defence Serious Crime Unit, which included detectives and specially trained officers from the police force and military.

The new search follows on from previous operations in August 2023, where a smaller amount of excavation work was carried out at the Town Range Car Park. A potential area of interest was discovered, and analysed in the latest operation, but no items of interest were found. Detective Chief Inspector Adam Edwards, who is overseeing the investigation, said: “Based on new information specialist officers have spent five days in Gibraltar following a potential new line of enquiry.

"We have excavated an area at Town Range Car Park, around and inside of, a water tank and have assessed the material removed. Disappointingly following this second excavation at Town Range Car Park and Trafalgar Cemetery we have not identified anything that helps to move the investigation into Simon’s disappearance forward. There is no intention to expand our search area or move to other locations at this time.

"However it is important to stress that our investigation does remain ongoing. I’d like to thank our colleagues from the military who helped to ensure the search undertaken was thorough in very challenging conditions. In only five days the team has processed more than twelve tonnes of material in the underground water tank that has been sealed for some time.

"The conditions were hot, damp and filthy but team members spent hours at a time inside the tank to search through every item found. At least two tonnes of material has been brought up to the surface for sieving and fingertip examination. I’ve personally overseen the search activity and I’m incredibly proud of the team’s performance and dedication when they have been faced with such a difficult task.

"I’d also like to thank Royal Gibraltar Police for their assistance with this latest operation and the public in Gibraltar for their patience during this activity. We have kept Mr and Mrs Parkes informed of our progress and I’d like to thank them again for their support. We know this remains a difficult time for them and we hope our ongoing work will one day bring them the answers they so desperately want."

Mr Parkes never made it back aboard HMS Illustrious after he went onshore in Gibraltar. When the ship returned to Portsmouth days later, no one knew what had happened to him. Despite a huge manhunt, he has not been found since. The investigation has failed to find answers for Mr Parkes' long suffering parents since.

Anyone with information about his disappearance is advised to call 101, quoting Operation Thornhill. Reports can also be submitted via the police website, or by contacting Crimestoppers anonymously online or by calling 0800 555 111. People living abroad are advised to call +44 1962 841 534.