Four teenagers missing in North Wales ‘are not experienced campers and just had a tent and sleeping bags’ – as police continue urgent hunt for youngsters last seen getting into a Ford Fiesta and heading to Snowdonia
- Lisa Corfield said they weren’t ‘experienced campers’ and had basic equipment
Four teenagers who are missing in North Wales are ‘are not experienced campers’ and only had basic equipment with them, the mother of one of the boy’s girlfriends has revealed.
Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Henderson and Hugo Morris, thought to be in their late teens, were last seen in the Harlech and Porthmadog areas of Gwynedd on Sunday morning.
A coastguard helicopter from from Caernarfon searched the area around the Glaslyn Nature Reserve at 4.30am this morning, but has since returned to its base.
Mountain rescue teams searched car parks in the area yesterday to search for the missing vehicle, however it has not yet been found.
The young men, believed to be from the Shrewsbury area, were due home from their trip on Monday morning but none of them have made contact with friends and family and their phones are all off.
North Wales Police have launched an urgent hunt for the four missing men, as their ‘desperate’ families say the lack of contact is out of character and leaving them ‘frantic with worry’.
However, it has emerged that the four – who were thought to be travelling into Snowdonia national park in a silver Ford Fiesta, registration HY14 GVO – were not experienced campers and only had a tent and sleeping bags with them.
Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Henderson and Hugo Morris, who were said to be in their late teens, were last seen getting into a silver Ford Fiesta car on Sunday morning and haven’t been seen since
The missing group are believed to have been planning to travel through Snowdonia, heading east from the Welsh coastal areas of Porthmadog and Harlech towards Shrewsbury, Shrops
Lisa Corfield, the mother of one of the boy’s girlfriends, told MailOnline: ‘They are not experienced campers. They have never been there before ‘[They] were just going for the night so have a tent and sleeping bags but only the basics.’
She added the families still had ‘no word as [of] yet’ to their whereabouts.
Chris Lloyd, chairman of the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team, told the BBC they were called out by North Wales Police yesterday afternoon.
Mr Lloyd said: ‘Our first job was to look for any indication they were on the mountain. We deployed two or three teams to drive around all the carparks. We cannot find the car.
‘We are still actively looking for it and are continuing to search. We don’t have specific area where to search.’
Harvey’s mother reposted the appeal post shared by North Wales Police on Facebook and wrote: ‘I am frantic with worry, one of these boys is my son Harvey, please please please share and tag anyone in Wales or get in touch with any information you may have.’
Another family member, Mel Hirst, said they were ‘desperate for any news’ and pleaded users to keep sharing the post.
Ms Corfield said the boys have not been seen or heard from and she begged people to share the post with as many people as possible so that they could ‘try and get them home safely’.
The lack of contact was said to be out of character and friends said their families are ‘worried sick’. Pictured: Family members post on Facebook
Police and mountain rescue teams are searching the area for the group and have urged anyone who may have seen them to contact them immediately.
North Wales Police said in a statement: ‘Police have concerns for four young males missing from the Harlech/Porthmadog area since the morning of the 19/11/23.
‘The four males’ names are Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Henderson and Hugo Morris.
‘They were travelling in a Silver Ford Fiesta registration HY14 GVO.
‘Any sightings please contact North Wales Police and quote ref num A184194.’
