Disappearance of Owen Harding

Owen Harding disappeared at the age of 16 from Saltdean, England, where he lived. Nothing has been heard from him since his disappearance on 26 March 2020. Harding was described at the time as being roughly 6 ft in height and had dark brown hair, which was short. He was usually seen wearing tracksuit bottoms, hoodies of a dark colour and white trainers. According to his mother, Stella, Harding was a valued member of the local community. From his school teachers and college friends, to the people he played football with, Harding was respected by those who knew him. Harding and his mother had an argument shortly before he went missing, which was around 6pm on 26 March 2020. Harding was struggling with the prospect of not being able to see his girlfriend, who lived away in Pocklington, Yorkshire, due to the country being put on lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic. After the argument, Harding left the family home that evening, heading to Telscombe where he intended to watch the sunset, according to his mother, Stella. However he never returned home and nobody who knew him has received any form of contact from him since. It's thought that Harding may have attempted to walk from his hometown of Saltdean to his girlfriend's house in Pocklington, which would have been 280 miles on foot. Two witnesses came forward, reporting to Sussex Police that they saw a boy who matched Harding's description at roughly 6.15pm and 6.30pm, walking beside the A259 road. A picture taken from closed-circuit television cameras placed Harding in Bannings Vale at roughly 6:50. Searches were carried out at the cliffs in Saltdean and Telscombe. CCTV footage released from East Sussex Police revealed two people whom officers urged to come forward as they believed it was possible that they may have witnessed something that day which could help them with their inquiries. CCTV footage revealed that Harding was walking directly towards a path along the side of the cliffs. His girlfriend disclosed she spoke to Harding on her phone at the time he was heading towards the cliffs.