Phil Nicol and Marc Bates. | Photo: supplied
The boyfriend of a missing London man is asking for any leads to help in the ongoing investigation.
Philip Nicol told his partner Marc Bates he was going out to apply for jobs at about 1:30pm on 1 March.
But when Nicol didn’t come home by 7pm that evening, Bates became immediately worried. By 9pm, Bates called the police.
Last week a nice chap got 23K RT for an appeal to find son’s lost teddy. Please can we do the same for my boyf Phil Nicol lost since 1st March #FindPhilNicol 47, 6′, blue eyes + warm smile Equality advocate @DiversityRM @switchboardLGBT @stonewalluk @cityreadlondon @missingpeople pic.twitter.com/hRCuLOuIYE
— Marc Bates #FBPE (@marcbatez) April 18, 2018
The pair live together in London’s south, Camberwell. They met 12 years ago when they both volunteered at the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard. Bates organized a fundraising event around Soho in Central London and Nicol came along.
He also set up a small marketing company about five years ago and Nicol worked part-time with him as head of content.
Bates told Gay Star News: ‘He wanted to carry on working with me part-time but then also work part time in the charity sector.’
He said his immediate concern was because Nicol ‘had been a little bit down’ and it was unusual for him not to be replying to messages.
Boyfriend: ‘I want him to know that I love him and I want him home’
Within half an hour of calling the police on the evening of the disappearance, they were at his front door.
Bates said: ‘The police have been amazing – really supportive.
He says the Southwark Missing Persons Unit of the Metropolitan Police have been ‘tireless’ with their work in trying to track Nicol down.
They’ve also contacted police departments in different areas for answers, kept in constant contact and trawled through CCTV footage.
Missing person, Phil Nicol. | Photo: supplied
One CCTV footage in particular captured Nicol going into the O2 Centre on Finchley Road two days after he went missing.
But Bates has no idea why he might have been there.
He said: ‘Nobody that we know has spoken to him since he went missing.’
When asked what Bates would like to tell Nicol if he sees this article, he replied: ‘First and foremost, I want him to let us know that he’s okay. That’s the most important thing.
‘And then I want him to come home and to know that I miss him terribly and want him back. There is nothing he has to worry about and he’s not in any kind of trouble.
‘Please just come home. If he doesn’t feel like he can come home, then what I would want is that he reaches out to somebody to say that he’s alright.
‘I want him to know that I love him and I want him home,’ he said.
Partner hopes his love is still out there somewhere
Bates wanted to make it clear Nicol has no history of mental health problems or drug and alcohol abuse. ‘He’s a good, decent, lovely, warm chap who has worked in the charity sector,’ Bates said.
He said Nicol tirelessly supported the LGBTI community and ‘he loved promoting diversity and equality in schools.’
Bates said although Nicol hasn’t suffered any mental health issues before, ‘this is a mental health issue because it isn’t normal behavior.’
Phil Nicol. | Photo: supplied
He continued: ‘I hope he is [still out there somewhere]. I don’t know whether he’s sleeping rough or is with a friend or has moved to a different area and is trying to start a different life – we don’t know.
‘Or indeed if he’s hurt himself – we don’t know that either,’ he said.
Have any information? Call the Police Missing Persons Unit Walworth Road Police Station on 020 7232 6246.
See also the Missing People website for more information on Phil Nicol.
