The family of a missing man have told of the "void in our lives" a month after the 29-year-old disappeared "without a trace". James Beer was last seen at 8.30pm on May 17 when his mother visited him at his home in Loughor, Swansea.
James' stepfather Lee Jones told WalesOnline: "It's been incredibly traumatic for the family. It's so out of character for James. Police have been amazing but we don't have a starting point. After his disappearance he doesn't appear on CCTV anywhere, not a Ring doorbell, not a business' CCTV. We don't know exactly what time he left or what direction he headed. It's incredibly difficult."
South Wales Police has released a CCTV image of James in Loughor's Spar shop from the morning of May 17. That day his mum Jan left her dog Meg with him while she visited James' older sister Hannah in Cardiff. Jan returned in the evening to pick the dog up and had a quick conversation with her son, who was not acting out of the ordinary.
That is the last time James is known to have been seen. Exhaustive helicopter and drone searches have been unsuccessful. "It's just bizarre he's not on anything," said Lee, 51. "You'd think in this climate of surveillance he would be recorded somewhere. We've been incredibly unlucky. There was CCTV in his neighbour's house directly opposite, but it was off on the night he disappeared."
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Lee said James' mental health has a tendency to be "up and down" but in the few weeks before he disappeared, he seemed "very jovial". The family had enjoyed a drink at the Reverend James pub and a game of Cluedo on May 6, the day of King Charles' coronation. "Everyone commented on how chatty he was because he wasn't always chatty. He seemed to be in a much better place."
The day before he went missing James went for a walk with Jan and the dog along Loughor Estuary. Again he seemed cheerful and talkative. After Jan saw him the following evening, various family members sent him messages over the next couple of days and none received a reply. By May 19 they knew something was wrong and reported James missing.
Lee said the last month has been a "living nightmare" for the tight-knit family. James is very close to Hannah and his stepsister Abbie. "We're a family with three children and we're missing one," said Lee. "It's a void in our lives. I feel pretty strong today but some days it has been really tough. It's really hard to fathom. The hardest bit is that he's disappeared without any trace. Even the police are scratching their heads, though they've been doing so much."
James is "incredibly talented", with an ability to build computers from scratch, said Lee. He graduated from Newport's University of Wales with a first class honours in film and editing before becoming a trader of rare coins. "He had over 4,000 coins listed on eBay, which is some going," Lee added. "He's also a keen metal detectorist and finds some quite valuable Roman artefacts, which he can then trade. His eyes light up when it comes to stuff like that."
Lee has been in James' life for 17 years and they have a close relationship. "He has a wicked sense of humour. I've never seen him laugh out loud but he's often got a half-smile. We like to play a game of cards and have a whisky. We climbed Pen y Fan together and he put me to shame. I was miles behind.
"He can be quite insular and tends to keep himself to himself," Lee added. "His main passion is hiking and wild camping, where he's in his element."
The family believe James may have taken a train from Gowerton or Bynea to mid Wales, where he often liked to camp alone. "James' father and I have been searching the heart of Wales, any places where people are known to camp," said Lee. "It's such a vast area, it's daunting. We've got posters of him everywhere in mid Wales, but we don't want to emphasise that area too much. He could be anywhere."
James' passport and camping gear were left in his house but he is thought to have taken his wallet with him. His family believe he is likely to present as anxious and avoid eye contact. "What we have learned in the last four weeks is that his mental health issues were probably more serious than we were aware of, and that's why we're so concerned now for his welfare," said Lee.
The family think James disappeared while wearing the same clothes from the Spar CCTV image — a thin green jacket, dark jumper, dark jeans, and dark unbranded baseball cap. He is 5ft 8ins tall with a slim build, light brown short hair and a forearm tattoo of an MC Escher birds design. He is likely to now have a beard.
Lee said the family would be grateful if people in Loughor, Gowerton, Bynea and nearby areas could check their CCTV or Ring doorbell footage from around the time James went missing, particularly the night of May 17 or the following day.
Speaking last month in an appeal for help from the public, James' sister Hannah told WalesOnline: "We're just devastated. We are a close family and it's really impossible to comprehend it."
Anyone who may have seen James, or who has information which could help police find him, is asked to call 101 quoting occurrence number 2300163003. You can read more of the latest breaking news from across Wales here.
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