Ray Shearwood was last seen on CCTV walking towards a parked Volkswagen Golf in August 2007 – police believe he was murdered and are still hunting for his killers
Police are still hunting for the killers of a dad-of-three who vanished without a trace after driving to a pub car park.
Ray Shearwood is believed to have been murdered after disappearing on August 19, 2007. The 36-year-old was never seen again after spending the morning with his eight-year-old daughter before dropping her off at her mum’s house nearly two decades ago.
Later that same day, the Merseyside dad drove to the Alt Park pub in Maghull, Sefton, in his green Ford Mondeo. CCTV footage captured him parking in the pub’s car park and walking towards a parked Volkswagen Golf. This is believed to be the last time he was ever seen, Manchester Evening News reports.
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Despite a police investigation and several public appeals, no substantial leads have ever emerged. The trail went cold quickly, and although a body has never been found, detectives are convinced of one thing: Ray Shearwood is no longer alive.
Originally from Bootle, Shearwood is believed to have been murdered shortly after his disappearance. His name was known to police, and he was said to have had links to Liverpool’s criminal underworld. It is suspected he may have been killed over an unpaid drug debt, with one line of inquiry pointing to a gang “notorious and involved in international drug crime”.
In May 2005, Shearwood was jailed after police raided one of his six properties across Sefton and found £60,000 hidden in a safe. At the time, he claimed the money came from prizefighting. The court later heard that between 2002 and 2003, he earned around £250,000, which he used to purchase multiple properties, including a tanning salon and café.
He ultimately pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply drugs, money laundering, and tax evasion and was sentenced to five years in prison. However, he served 16 months before being released in November 2006 – only nine months before he disappeared.
Since that day in August 2007, Ray Shearwood has not been seen or heard from. His mobile phone, which he was said to carry at all times, has never been used again.
Howard Rubbery, Head of the Serious Crime Review Unit, said: “Although 18 years have passed since Ray disappeared, we still remain determined to see those responsible brought to justice.
“Ray’s family and friends still haven’t had answers, and we want to help bring them closure. From a very early stage, we have been treating this investigation as a murder inquiry rather than a missing-from-home because the investigation so far leads us to believe that he has come to serious harm.
“We know loyalties can change over time, and we are confident there are people in the community who know who was responsible. If, all these years later, those people are in a different situation and now feel able to assist, I would urge them to come forward and help us to get closure for Ray’s family.
“There are several details of the investigation that we are aware of and able to share. On Sunday, August 19, 2007, Ray spent the morning with his then eight-year-old daughter before dropping her off at home in Bootle with her mother.
“At around 4.45pm the same day, Ray was seen parking his green Ford Mondeo (registration VK02 BHA) in the car park of the Alt pub in Maghull. We believe that he got out of this vehicle and walked over to a VW Golf sports edition which was also parked up.
“This was the last sighting of Ray, and there has been no known communication with him since. I want to take this opportunity to continue to appeal for anyone in that car park on the day, or anyone who may have seen Ray since, to come forward and help us provide his family with answers after all this time.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the social media desk @MerPolCC, call 101 or you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. You can also use their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously.