TODAY marks the ten-year anniversary of the disappearance of a one-time award-winning Wrexham horse breeder.

David Clwyd Davies, of the Trefynant Park area of Acrefair, was last seen on April 3, 2013.

His disappearance was said to be "out of character."

Throughout the 10 years since he went missing, various appeals have been launched and renewed, by North Wales Police and the Missing People charity.

As of April 2023, the latter organisation's appeal in respect of Mr Davies remains open.

What do we know about David Clwyd Davies on April 3, 2013?

The 69-year-old was due to meet a neighbour for an appointment on this date ten years previously - but he failed to turn up.

It was described by police as "out of character," and led officers to conduct house-to-hours enquiries after the neighbour raised concerns.

At the time he went missing, Mr Davies was described as 5’ 11” tall, of heavy build with a thick beard.

He usually wore jeans, a fleece top and woolly hat and was well known in the local community.

What had happened before his disappearance?

Mr Davies, known as Clwyd, disappeared in the days after he received a ban from keeping horses by Wrexham magistrates in April 2013.

The horse breeder had pleaded guilty to six charges of causing unnecessary suffering under the Animal Welfare Act.

Twenty-one horses owned by Mr Davies on 120 acres of land were relocated by the RSPCA.

Police said on the day before he went missing, he was seen by two people in Cefn Mawr and yet no-one knows where he was going – he did not go to the bank or Tesco, and "would have been very distinctive on his blue Ford tractor.”

Recollections of the man

Cefn Community Councillor Ben Twigg, member for Plas Madoc, told the Leader of his memories of Mr Davies.

He said: "I knew of him - he used to keep his horses on Dodd's field.

"The farm is still there, but it's gone to rack and ruin.

"He kept himself to himself, not a social fella - but I'd say hello as I was passing him.

"I don't think I was a councillor then but I remember him; he just up and went."

A resident of Acrefair, who did not wish to be named, said: "I knew him to say 'how do' to - and I drank with him in the Duke of Wellington.

"He was always wearing a flat cap and a beige overcoat.

"I think a lot of people have forgotten him now.

Speculation on a 'local mystery'

Acrefair resident Eddie Jones said: "I remember at the time [he went missing] there were an awful lot of helicopters searching over my estate.

"Of course, they were also over his fields.

"I remember thinking about this a lot at the time; a man went missing in the 1960's in a similar situation - vanished off the face of the earth.

"Like that one, this was a bit of a local mystery with a lot of speculation.

"Under this area is riddled with tunnels - I've wondered if he could have gone into one and gotten lost."

Another Acrefair resident, who didn't wish to be named, said: "Some said he might have gone to Ireland; he used to talk a lot about going there."

Publicity 

A few months before he went missing, Mr Davies had been the subject of Channel 4 documentary, The Horse Hoarder.

His subsequent disappearance was the subject of a follow-up documentary on Welsh language TV channel S4C.

When North Wales Police renewed the appeal in 2018, Missing People was to circulate a poster in The Big Issue magazine in an attempt to trace Mr Davies.

At that time Sgt Gareth Roberts said while the force occasionally had reports of sightings around the country, these came to nothing.

The appeal as it stands today

A page on the website of charity Missing People continues to call for anyone with information about Mr Davies' whereabouts - or Mr Davies himself - to make contact.

On the page, a spokesman says: "David Clwyd we are here for you whenever you are ready; we can listen, talk you through what help you need, pass a message for you and help you to be safe. Call. Text. Free. Confidential. 116000."

What does North Wales Police say?

Detective Chief Inspector Sarah-Jayne Williams said: “We continue to appeal for information to trace David Clwyd Davies, who went missing from his home near Wrexham in 2013.

“No unsolved case is ever closed, and I would ask anyone with any new and substantial evidence that would assist in tracing David to contact North Wales Police via the website, or by calling 101, quoting iTrace reference 9438.

“Alternatively, you can also contact the independent charity, Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111, or the Missing People charity online.”

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