Police 'working at full capacity' to find missing 86-year-old Kenilworth man - search enters seventh day
Warwickshire Police says it continues to "work at full capacity" to find a missing 86-year-old man from Kenilworth.
John Taylor was last seen at Abbey Fields next to Finham Brook at around 9.20am on Tuesday 3 December, where officers believe he entered the water before carrying on walking.
The force has been out in huge numbers over the last week to find Mr Taylor, with officers conducting water searches over the weekend.
A huge number of locals have also rallied together to help the search, which has broadened out from Kenilworth Castle where it started.
In an update today (December 9) Warwickshire Police said it had an "extremely busy weekend" as it continued the search for Mr Taylor and dealt with the aftermath of Storm Darragh
"On Saturday, at the height of Storm Darragh in Warwickshire, our control room fielded more calls than on any News Year's Eve for the past ten years," the force said.
"In total, we received 671 calls on Saturday, and Sunday was also saw a high volume of calls as us and our partners mopped up after the storm.
"This, coupled with an ongoing search for missing person John in Kenilworth, meant that we have all seen an extremely busy weekend.
"We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for acting on our safety messages about travel and inaccessible roads, and an even bigger thank you to everyone who offered their help to remove fallen trees and to assist with the search for John."
Over the past week the search for Mr Taylor has seen specialist officers, drones, helicopters, dogs and local search and rescue volunteers out across the town.
Officers started the search by concentrating around Kenilworth Castle - where John used to work - but are now expanding their field of search further as time passes.
Many residents were out again on Friday night searching, having met at the Queen & Castle pub for a debrief before.
Rural crime officers have also been helping in the search, including PC Andy Steventon and the motorbike team which has been out covering huge patches of farmland and countryside surrounding Kenilworth.
He said: "Something that would have taken two or three officers a day to do we can clear in an hour or an hour and a half.
"This isn't a substitute for a detailed forensic search - this means officers are freed up to do those searches where the intel suggests they need to be done.
"This will be such a difficult time for John's loved ones and we're all thinking about them.
"We've come together as a force and we've been working flat out with our friends at Warwickshire Fire and Rescue and Warwickshire Search and Rescue to bring this uncertainty to an end.
"The response from the community has been pretty amazing and it's one of those things that restores your faith in humanity."
A local Facebook group has also been set up to help the search.
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