The family of a Cardiff man who disappeared without a trace three years ago are renewing their efforts to find him. Jamie Moreno, who was 48 when he went missing, left his home in Roath around lunchtime on March 23, 2020.
He was last seen on CCTV in Llanedeyrn later that afternoon. A few of Jamie's friends have now gotten in touch with his sister, Nilsa Foster, to organise a fresh search for him on March 12 with the search party meeting at 10am at the Harvester on Circle Way East.
They will search a large area of the vicinity where he was last seen in Llanedeyrn, following Rumney River and covering the woods of Parc Coed y Nant. You can see further details and updates about the planned search here.
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It is believed that Jamie, who has two daughters, left his home in The Parade sometime after 1.15pm on March 23, 2020. He was seen by a friend at about 2.45pm later that day on Llanedeyrn Road and CCTV from a nearby school confirms this as the last known sighting of him.
Nilsa, 54, told WalesOnline Jamie grew up in Llanedeyrn and "knows that place like the back of his hand. "I think the surrounding areas of where we are from is where my brother would be," she said. Nilsa said she does not believe Jamie has been living rough for the last three years. "He likes his home comforts. He is not the type who will be on the street begging," she said, adding that she is "realistic" the search in March will be for "remains". "We are mainly looking for clothing - just looking for something to say he was there."
Speaking about the possible reason behind Jamie's disappearance, Nilsa said that he took their mother's death six years ago "extremely badly" and stayed in her house for two years after she died.
She believes he was struggling to cope with her death and left intentionally. Describing him as a "deep" person who was hard to read, she said: "We knew how bad things were with him after mum. I think it was just too much for him and he just thought: 'Sod this.' I know my brother. He is very impulsive. He's a very reclusive person.
"I am just thinking 'What was his mind frame?' I spoke to him the week before [he went missing] and he was very short on the phone. I genuinely believe he left knowing he would never come back."
Nilsa recalled that the police search at the time and their own efforts to trace Jamie's last actions were delayed by the Covid pandemic. "It took over a year for us to get phone records because of Covid," she said. They later discovered his phone was switched off around the time he was last seen. "It took us eight or nine months to find out he sold his iPad to a cash generator two or three days before he disappeared," she added.
Meanwhile, it took around nine weeks to get information from Jamie's bank account. The family say he took his wallet with him but later discovered his bank cards had not been used since the day he went missing.
They also discovered after his disappearance that he had not been to work for two months. South Wales Police said it had issued regular appeals over the last three years, one of which was on Crimewatch in 2020. It also said it has conducted physical searches for Jamie, including after a reported sighting in Llanrumney Fields and another in North Yorkshire.
However, Nilsa believes officers have still not conducted a "proper search" of the wooded area in Llanedeyrn, which she noted has places which are difficult to access when it is overgrown. She hopes she can "put that part of my mind to rest" with the planned search in March.
"It was an avenue for me that I always felt needed to be done. It's as if my brother went in one side and never came out of the other. The more people there are at the search the better. I would be grateful for anyone's time. We can distribute people to different parts. Even if it does not bring anything up, I can put that to rest. I can say he is not there and that I have thoroughly checked."
The renewed search comes after widespread media coverage and public interest in the case of mum-of-two Nicola Bulley who disappeared without a trace for 23 days while walking her dog Willow in Lancashire on January 28 this year. Her body was eventually found in the River Wyre, within a mile of where she was last seen, after a tip-off from a member of the public.
"I am almost envious with Nicola Bulley because they have got that closure now," said Nilsa. "Every day when I get up, I live the same scene every day. I think 'Will today be the day?' I do not think that there will come [a day] when he will walk back in. I have always got hope and for once in my life, I want to be wrong."
She added that she wants closure for Jamie's daughters, Tia and Georgia, who she said are "heartbroken" by his disappearance. When the family faced their third Christmas without him last year, Nilsa previously told WalesOnline: “Since Jamie has been missing, he’s missed the greatest gift of all - he’s become a grandad. His daughter Georgia has had a little boy called Kairo. My brother would be so happy - it breaks my heart.”
Jamie is approximately 5ft 9in, usually wears a beanie hat and might also have had a beard at the time he went missing. A spokesperson for South Wales Police said: "It is believed Jamie left his home in The Parade sometime after 1.15pm on Monday March 23, 2020 – the first day of the Covid lockdown. He was seen by a friend at about 2.45pm later that day on Llanedeyrn Road. CCTV from a nearby school confirms this as the last sighting of him.
"Over the past three years South Wales Police has issued regular appeals seeking information concerning the whereabouts of Jamie including facilitating television and radio interviews with his family and a national appeal on BBC’s Crimewatch programme on September 16, 2020.
"The Crimewatch appeal generated a number of leads, all of which were fully investigated. These included financial enquires, open source and physical searches including a reported sighting in Llanrumney Fields and other locations in the UK including North Yorkshire.
"Searches of the local area have also been carried out, including the use of specially trained dogs and other specialist resources. Jamie’s family have been regularly updated by the missing person team."
Detective Inspector Geraint Higgins said: “It has been almost three years since Jamie Moreno was last seen and we continue to appeal for any information which will lead to finding him. We understand the distress this must be causing to Jamie’s family. We continue to support them and appeal to anyone who may have any information, however small you may think it may be to contact us.” Anyone with information is asked to contact South Wales Police, quoting reference number 2000102586. You can join the search for Jamie Moreno in March here.
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