Peter Baglin, a much loved husband, dad, grandad and great-grandad suddenly vanished on the evening of December 28 last year. It was just days after Christmas.
He had 'gone out for a walk' before he was seen on CCTV minutes later in the local petrol station. He told his wife Michelle he was 'clearing his head' and assured her he would 'be home soon'.
But she never heard from him again.
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What followed was almost ten weeks of unbearable anguish. Peter was now missing, and the entire community came out in their droves to conduct searches that spanned miles.
Missing posters with Peter's picture and details of the last confirmed sighting of the 55-year-old met you with every turn. The quiet village of Boothstown was rocked by his disappearance.
Police launched a major investigation, with specialist divers searching the Bridgewater Canal and nearby woodland. Door to door and CCTV enquiries were carried out, with a number of desperate pleas for help and information issued over the course of almost three months.
There was speculation that the dad-of-three had somehow entered the canal. Distraught family and friends feared the worst but continued to hope for the best. On the night he vanished, the temperature was almost at freezing.
It was not until March 4 that police, who had undertaken a fresh search of the canal due to the change in seasons and conditions, tragically uncovered human remains. It was later confirmed they belonged to missing Peter.
Devastatingly, Peter was located in the water just a few feet away from where a number of his belongings had been found nine weeks earlier.
But over four months on from the the discovery, and with the 'family man' laid to rest in a touching service by his loved ones, an inquest into Peter's death has still not taken place.
The continuous wait for answers is something widow Michelle has described as 'a living nightmare'. It has now been over six months since the grandad first vanished.
The Manchester Evening News understands investigations are still continuing into the death and that Bolton Coroner's Office are still awaiting further information from the police.
"I just wish it could be over, it's still a living nightmare," Michelle told the Manchester Evening News. "The waiting again - ten weeks waiting for Pete to come home only to find out he was feet away from his belongings, and now months waiting for the coroner's court. When will it end?
"I have to live my life without Pete which is unbearable at times. I am so thankful I got nearly 30 years with him, I was so blessed to have him... but what I would give to have another 30."
The day Peter was found was the day that his wife Michelle and family said they 'wished would never come'.
Greater Manchester Police have been contacted for further details and updates on the investigation into Peter's death.
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