A missing Welsh woman who has not been seen for almost three months has been described by her husband as a 'beautiful wife and soulmate' and a 'wonderful mother'. Eryl Reeves, 68 disappeared on November 29 after her husband Dennis returned home from work and realised she wasn't there.
Later that afternoon, her car was found unlocked at the cliffs of St Govans Head in Pembrokeshire and police launched an urgent appeal, Wales Online reports. There was no evidence to suggest she was gone but Dennis said he knew immediately that he'd lost his wife of 21 years.
Three days later, a lifeboat found Eryl's light blue puffer jacket in the water at the base of the cliffs. Her body has still not been found but Dennis hasn't given up all hope on his wife being brought back home.
He hopes that any walkers, sailors and fishing boat operators will keep an eye out for Eryl who was wearing a green jumper, white vest and dark leggings when she was last seen. The heartbroken husband has said he is struggling to accept 'the loss of such a beautiful soul' but he needs to 'get his act together' as he said 'if I think about it, it still makes me want to cry'.
Dennis said it was hard to watch the back to back coverage of missing Nicola Bulley after trying to cope with the grief of losing his wife without any closure. The couple had been happily married for 21 years but Eryl had always struggled with her mental health.
Dennis said that after his wife retired from her job with the Hwyl Dda health board in December 2019 following a period of sickness, she plunged into a terrible depressive state. Eryl was prescribed medication which initially 'worked well' but when she came off them, she became low again.
Dennis said: "It held the depression at bay for a little bit but she never went back to the woman I married, although I never stopped loving her." Just before her disappearance, the couple had visited Australia to see Eryl's brother and in a bid to bring some excitement back into his wife's life, they saved up for business class seats and tried to enjoy every minute as much as they could.
Dennis added: "She wasn't depressed, but she wasn't happy." The couple came home on November 17 and less than two weeks later, Dennis said he got up and kissed his wife goodbye before heading to work, not knowing it would be the last time he ever saw her.
He recalled: "She was happy, her eyes were bright. You could always tell with Eryl with her eyes. I gave her a hug and a kiss like I did every day.
"The magic was still there after 21 years. She giggled and I thought she is going to have a good day today."
The couple had already organised another trip for later that year and when Dennis phoned Eryl on his lunch break, she told him she'd been sorting her dresses for the next trip while he was gone. When Dennis got home after 5pm, his wife was gone and there was no answer on her phone.
He said: "I just sensed she had gone. I just knew it. I rang the police straightaway. I told the officers I knew where she'd gone, it will be St Govans."
According to Dennis, the beauty spot where Eryl's car was found was where the mum would head to watch the sea when she was having a bad day. Police told Dennis over a radio call that they'd found her vehicle with the keys in the ignition but he said this wasn't out of character for his wife who often left her keys in the car.
The heartbroken husband said he was unable to sleep in their bed that first night as he later said: Every morning I would put my hand across to her but she wasn't there." Dennis searched for his wife at St Govans himself a few days later and spotted Eryl's coat in the water which has been the only trace of her so far.
He was even given the use of a plane for free from former colleagues at Fly Wales at Haverfordwest Airport but despite an extensive search as low as they could possibly fly, they found nothing. Dennis said: "The conclusion is that she went into the sea.
"Whether she slipped or she had had enough, we won't know. Her body could still just be off St Govans or a beach on Cornwall. There's so much coverage of Nicola Bulley but we have a missing person here too.
"I think I know what happened on the day. When she crashed, she crashed quickly." Police are keeping an open mind about their investigation as Eryl had set the dinner table for two on the day she went missing.
Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed that the case is still a missing person enquiry and has not yet been passed to the coroner. Speaking of his wife, Dennis said: "If it was an accident, it was an accident.
"But 60% of me thinks she had just had enough. I will never know. I just wish I could tell her one more time how much I loved her, and still love her."
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