Taylor Charlton’s friends vow to ‘not stop looking’ as search continues for missing Barnstaple teenager

Community-led search efforts for missing 14-year-old Taylor Charlton continue as locals vow to “not stop looking”.

Taylor, 14, was last seen in Barnstaple at around 10.40pm on Friday, May 8 near Tesco in Seven Brethren. He was reported missing on May 9.

Since his disappearance, community groups have united to try and find the young boy. A Facebook group called ‘Find Taylor Charlton’ has amassed over 9,000 members and organises searches and shares information on potential sightings.

Members of the group met at The Quay Cafe in Braunton today for a search at Crow Point.

Among the volunteers were friends of Taylor as well as those who did not know the family, but wanted to do what they could to help.

Before the search, the group tied blue ribbons on their arms for Taylor.

Charlie Ridd, 20, Ilfracombe, is a family friend of Taylor, she said: “We’ve put out daily posts and organised searches, around 40 of us regularly search the North Devon area.

“As a community we have pulled together and said that we will not stop looking for Taylor, no matter how long it takes.”

Taylor is described as around 5ft 8ins tall, of muscular build, with dark brown hair and a moustache. He was last seen wearing a bright blue fitted top, jeans and bright blue Nike shoes.

Grace Thurman, 17, said: “I’m close with Taylor, I’ve known him for years. He’s funny, likes going to the gym. He is just a really lovely boy. I’ve been out searching every day for the past week in the hope that he will be found safe.

On May 15, police announced that they discovered a pair of shoes belonging to Taylor by the River Taw, in the area between Sticklepath and Bickington.

While officers stress they are keeping an “open investigative mindset,” they are working on a theory that the teenager may have entered the water.

A statement issued by Devon and Cornwall Police Sector Inspector Andy Wills this evening, Tuesday, May 19, said: “While a highly visible search operation has been taking place to find Taylor, a substantial number of detectives, officers and staff have also been continuing enquiries to establish the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.

“All avenues of enquiry remain open. A hypothesis that Taylor may have entered the water has resulted in searches being concentrated on the River Taw area.

“Currently, the last confirmed sighting we have of Taylor was captured on CCTV showing him heading in the direction of the river.

“Shoes we believe belong to Taylor were found on two consecutive days on the high tide line of the riverbank, some 480m apart, between Sticklepath and Bickington.

“Our search teams have covered a vast area of the river and estuary. This is a challenging location with a significant movement of water on each tide.”

Danielle Newton, from Barnstaple, said: “We’re just hoping that we’ll find something. My daughter and I have been searching daily, sometimes up to two or three times a day.

“My daughter is a similar age to Taylor so I can not imagine the pain the family is going through. I don’t even know the family personally. But I just knew if it was my own child missing I would do everything I could to find them.”

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall police said: “We recognise how much the community wants to help to find Taylor, but would just remind everyone that if you are out looking, please take care and avoid putting yourself at risk.

“This includes entering unsafe buildings or going near the water or river banks. We also ask people to avoid sharing speculation on social media as unconfirmed information can sometimes make enquiries more challenging.”

Anyone with information, including any sightings of Taylor, is asked to call police immediately on 999 quoting reference 50260117084.

If you need help or support, you can speak to the Missing People charity on 116 000.