A distraught dad has told how he has been searching the banks of the Tyne for his son who went missing almost three weeks ago.
Karl Pyle was last seen leaving his cousin's house in Ryton, Gateshead, early in the morning of March 6 after an argument, and his father, Kevin Pyle, says he thinks the most likely scenario is that Karl started to walk home to his house in Blucher, Newcastle, over the bridge at Newburn.
But the 32-year-old landscape gardener and owner of Jade's Deli in West Denton did not arrive home and his family is appealing to anyone who may have seen him to get in touch.
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"Karl suffered with mental health issues and he has gone missing before, but never for this long," said Kevin. "We are especially worried because he speaks to his nine-year-old daughter, who lives with his first wife, every single night without fail and he has not spoken to her since March 5. She is absolutely distraught, as is the whole family.
"I have spent the last fortnight walking the banks of the Tyne at Newburn at low tide twice a day, in case he fell in to the water that morning. We just want to know what has happened to him and want him back safe with us."
Kevin, who lives in Fenham with Karl's mum, Karen, said their ordeal had started in the early hours of Sunday, March 5, when they received a call from Karl's wife saying that he was having a mental health crisis and was self-harming. "Karen and I immediately went to his house at Blucher and brought him home to ours," said. "He spent all day at hours on the Sunday and although he was drinking, he seemed to be OK. Then at tea-time, he decided to go to his cousin's house in Ryton, as they are very close.
"At some point during the night, they had an argument and Karl walked out. That is the last anyone has seen of him, and we reported him missing to the police later the same day.
"Obviously we don't know what has happened to him, where he went or what he did after he left his cousin's house, but I think the he most likely started to walk home across the bridge at Newburn, which is why I am going there at low tide to see if there's any sign of him."
Kevin says the whole family is desperate for Karl to come home and have had posters printed and posted on social media to ask people to keep a look-out for him. "We are all really worried," said Kevin. "Karl has three children and two step-children and they are all desperate to see him again, as are his mum, sister and I.
"We've got every taxi driver in Newcastle looking out for him and it gives the family a little bit of hope if we know we are doing everything we can to get him back home. If Karl is reading this, I would just say come home lad."
A spokesperson from Northumbria Police said: "We can confirm that Karl Pyle, 32, has been reported missing from the Blucher area of Newcastle. A number of enquiries are ongoing to trace Karl and anyone with information is asked to get in touch using the ‘Tell Us Something’ page on our website or by calling 101 quoting reference NP-20230314-0286.”
Karl is described as: 5ft 11in, medium build, with a short beard. He was last seen wearing a black T-shirt and black tracksuit bottoms.
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