Families in desperate hunt for missing loved ones
DESPERATE families were still searching last night for loved ones who disappeared in the chaos of the Manchester bomb blast.
Dozens of shocked relatives scoured hospitals and hotels throughout the day in the hope of tracing their last movements.
Among the missing were music-mad teenage schoolchildren who had travelled hundreds of miles to see their idol on stage.
Some of their parents, who were waiting in the lobby where the suicide bomb was detonated, have also never been seen again.
1. OLIVIA CAMPBELL
Olivia Campbell, 15, who has twice entered TV’s Britain’s Got Talent, was among the missing after going to the show with her friend Adam Lawler, 15, who has been left seriously injured.
Her father, grandparents and others undertook a desperate search around Manchester hospitals as her mother Charlotte, 36, waited anxiously for news at home in Bury.
The teenager sent her mother a text at 8.30pm saying she had seen the support acts and was waiting for the US singer to go on stage and was ‘really enjoying herself’.
Ms Campbell said: ‘That’s the last I heard from her. I’m still hopeful, I’ve got to be hopeful, I can’t fear the worst. You just don’t think it will ever happen to you, especially at a children’s concert.’
2. LIAM CURRY AND CHLOE RUTHERFORD
The families of Liam Curry, 19, and his girlfriend Chloe Rutherford, 17, drove through the night after news of the explosion broke.
Liam, a sports science undergraduate at Northumbria University, whose father died in March after a long illness, had taken Chloe for a night away as a romantic treat.
But neither have been seen after apparently leaving before the final song of the night.
Chloe’s father Mark Rutherford, 45, of South Shields, said: ‘We don’t know anything. We are just waiting for news. I drove through the night to get here.
‘My wife phoned me and said, ‘‘something’s happened in Manchester’’.’
3. KELLY BREWSTER
Increasingly worried relatives of missing insurance assessor Kelly Brewster, 32, said her body had shielded her young niece from the blast’s hail of death. Ms Brewster, from Sheffield, had travelled to the concert with her sister Claire, and Claire’s daughter Hollie Booth, 11. Ms Brewster’s uncle Paul Dryhurst, 59, a lorry driver, said last night that she had not been traced, while the other two were still being treated in hospital.
Mr Dryhurst said: ‘Kelly shielded Hollie and Claire from the damage. The three were walking out in single file, with Claire in front, Hollie behind her, and Kelly behind her. When the bomb went off the impact broke Claire’s jaw and broke Hollie’s legs.’
4. MARTYN HETT
The family of missing Martyn Hett, 29, said they feared the ‘worst could have happened’ just two days before he was about to embark on a trip of a lifetime.
He was due to fly to America for a two-month holiday and spent the last few days saying goodbye to friends. Stepmother Kathryn Hett, 59, said his phone is now turned off leaving his family ‘devastated’.
5. WENDY FAWELL
Wendy Fawell, a 50-year-old school worker, disappeared in the chaos while waiting for 15-year-old daughter Charlotte. The Elvis Presley fan from Yorkshire, was waiting with a friend, Caroline, who suffered shrapnel wounds.
6. ANGELIKA AND MARCIN KLIS
A young woman has put out an appeal for the safe return of her parents, Angelika and Marcin Klis, who both attended the concert.
Daughter Alex Klis, a student at the University of York, wrote: ‘Anyone who is in any safe place or hospital in Manchester, if anyone comes across my parents please, please let me know as they’ve been missing ever since the attack, this is a picture taken tonight so this is exactly what they were wearing.’
7. COURTNEY BOYLE AND PHILIP TRON
Neither Courtney Boyle, 19, nor her mother’s partner Philip Tron, 32, have been seen since they went to pick up her little sister Nicole, who escaped unharmed.
Courtney’s mother Deborah Hutchinson appealed for the safe return of the pair, from Tyne and Wear. Writing on Facebook she said: ‘My daughter Courtney Boyle and partner Philip Tron have gone missing tonight in an attack at Manchester. Please share and help find them, I need them home safe.’
8. NELL JONES
The parents of promising student Nell Jones, 14, travelled from their farm near Knutsford, Cheshire. Friends said she was with a group of friends from Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, at least one of whom suffered leg injuries.
Family friend Gina Robinson said: ‘She’s still not been in touch. Her parents and other family members are on the ground searching Manchester high and low for her. Her cousin Hollie Webb also issued a desperate appeal to find the youngster.
Sharing a photo online, she said: ‘If anyone knows of anywhere we can try as we are heading to Manchester now x.’
9. ALISON HOWE AND LISA LEES
Also among the missing were two mothers who were collecting their children from the concert when the bomb went off. Alison Howe, 45, and Lisa Lees, 43, from, Oldham, had been waiting in the foyer. Darcie Howe and India Lees, the 15-year-old daughters they were picking up, are believed to be safe.
Mrs Howe’s daughter Sasha posted a heartbreaking message on Facebook yesterday saying: ‘Still no news. Pls contact if anyone knows anything.’