5 News with Dan Walker is launching a new feature, Missing, dedicated to highlighting a different missing person case in the UK each week, launching tonight Wednesday 11 November.
Every week, Missing on 5 News will feature different missing people, with guests joining Dan Walker live in the studio, including police officers and the family and friends of missing people, in a bid to bring national awareness and reunite those missing with their loved ones.
Tonight’s broadcast follows an event in Parliament today highlighting 5’s editorial commitment to raising awareness of missing people, including the new 5 News feature.
Sponsored by Michelle Welsh MP, Chair of the Missing People APPG, alongside the charity Missing People, broadcasters, campaigners, and MPs will come together to discuss how media and the third sector can help keep missing people in the public eye.
Home Office Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Satvir Kaur is due to attend today’s roundtable.
Commenting on the launch of Missing, the Minister said: “It is hard to imagine the pain and loss experienced by those who have a loved one missing. My heart goes out to the families and loved ones of those who have gone missing, remain missing, or have lost their lives. I welcome Channel 5’s work to shine a light on these cases.
“The government will continue do everything it can to support efforts to find missing people and help those affected. We continue to work closely with police and other multi-agency partners to ensure they are equipped to respond effectively when these incidents occur”, she added.
The new strand on 5 News is a regular commitment to covering more cases on the bulletin. It follows two series of Vanished: The search for Britain’s Missing on 5, made by ITN Productions and presented by Dan Walker, which aired in 2023, which helped locate a number of missing people and drive record calls to the Missing People helpline while it was on air. By bringing appeals into the news programme on a regular basis, 5 News can continue supporting families and raising awareness of cases that need urgent public attention.
Tonight, 5 News highlights Denise Jarvis’ case as her sister Rachel and mother Bernadette tonight make a fresh appeal for information.
“For us, it still feels like it was yesterday”, Rachel tells 5 News. “It’s difficult to get your head around that, you know, even though four years have gone, we’re still just not ready to accept that she’s gone. It just can’t be the case. She’s got to be out there somewhere.”
Ben Lavender, the detective inspector investigating Denise’s case highlights the challenges in missing persons cases. He told 5 News: “It’s really difficult. Denise didn’t have a mobile phone with her, she’s not used her bank cards. And so in an age where we rely heavily on digital footprints for people to find them, we’ve had nothing to go on at all. It’s been really challenging and we’ve spoken to over 90 people that knew her. We’ve carried out hundreds and hundreds of actions and still not been able to, to trace where she is.” Every 90 seconds, someone is reported missing in the UK – with around 300,000 missing reports made to the police each year. While most are found within a few hours or days, an estimated 10,000 people, have been missing for over a year. Only a fraction of these longer-term missing people are covered by the media.
Dan Walker, 5 News Anchor, said: “We hope Missing will highlight just how powerful it can be to bring missing person cases to a wider audience, and how much it means to families to know their loved one has not been forgotten. Missing on 5 News will build on that public service by regularly giving families a platform, keeping these cases in the public eye and, hopefully, helping to generate the information that could make a difference.”
Katy Vaughan, Chief Executive at Missing People, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to Channel 5 and the wider 5 News team for their ongoing commitment to raising awareness of missing people and their families. Responsible, thoughtful reporting can play a vital role in helping the public understand the realities of missing. Every missing person has a story, and every missing incident affects families and communities.”
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the following cases will feature on 5 News:
- Denise Jarvis was 44 when she vanished from a park in South Gloucestershire on 3 August 2022. Her sister Rachel and mother Bernadette are making a fresh appeal for information.
- Fatima Nunes was 57 when she went missing in May 2024. It’s believed she left the family home in Hayes and has not been seen since. Her son is making an appeal for information for the first time.
- Steven Durand, from Preston, was 31 when he went missing October 2018. His mother Christine is making a fresh appeal for information eight years on.
- Douglas Mills was 44 when he went missing in January 2025. He left the family home in Uxbridge and has not been seen since. A father of four, his partner Adrienne is making an appeal for information.
Debbie Ramsay, Editor 5 News, said: “Behind every missing person appeal is a family living with uncertainty. Public interest journalism means giving those stories careful, sustained attention, even when they are no longer in the headlines. Our newsroom is committed to reporting cases sensitively and responsibly, and to ensuring these appeals get the attention they deserve.”
Federico Ruiz, Head of News & Current Affairs at 5, said: “At 5, we believe our programmes should have an impact beyond the screen. By making missing persons appeals a regular part of 5 News, we can use the power and reach of TV as a force for good, helping to keep vital cases in the public eye and, we hope, bringing families one step closer to finding answers.”
Missing on 5 News launches on Wednesday 11 November and then feature as part of the bulletin every Tuesday evening. 5 News with Dan Walker airs weekdays at 5pm on 5.
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