Richard Okorogheye: Mum pleads for help to find missing son as Met Police release more photos
The mother of a missing university student is pleading for her son to come home and for the public to help as police release new images of the teenager.
19-year-old Richard Okorogheye is believed to have left his family home in the Ladbroke Grove area of west London on the evening of March 22. He was reported missing two days later.
Mum Evidence Joel previously said the Oxford Brookes University student had spoken of "struggling to cope" with university pressures and he had been shielding during lockdown as he had sickle cell disease.
In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, she said: “Richard we love you and miss you very much, please can you come home? We aren’t angry at you. We just want to know that you’re okay.
“For anyone reading this, we are desperately missing our son. If you know anything or know where he might be, please come forward and speak to the police.”
As the teenager is in an at risk group, he would only leave the house to go to hospital for regular blood transfusions for his condition.
Ms Joel previously told the MyLondon news website that her son had “never done anything like this”, adding: “Something has gone wrong.”
The Met Police said Mr Okorogheye left his home and headed in the direction of Ladbroke Grove on March 22 at about 8.30pm.
He was last seen boarding the 23 southbound bus in Ladbroke Grove at 8.44pm.
CCTV footage showed the student wearing an all-black outfit and carrying a black satchel with a white Adidas logo across his lower back.
Police do not know which stop Mr Okorogheye got off at, but he was known to frequent the Westminster and Hammersmith and Fulham areas.
Ms Joel previously said the teenager told her he was going to visit a friend, but none of his friends have seen him.
He had also told his mum to drive safe and that he would see her later.
Ms Joel returned home from a nursing shift at around 9pm and assumed he was in his room.
She cooked him dinner but discovered he was not there when she knocked on his door and he did not answer his phone.
With the help of a locksmith, she gained entry to his room. But it was empty and Richard's wallet, bus pass and bank card were left behind.
The Met Police has renewed its appeal for information as it issued CCTV images from the night the student was last seen.
Detective chief Inspector Nicki Beecher, from the Met’s Area West Public Protection Unit, said: “Our officers are continuing to work around the clock to locate Richard and bring him home to his worried family.
“We are keen to speak with anyone who may have been around Ladbroke Grove at the time of Richard’s last known sighting as captured above – you might be able to help us trace his next steps.
“If you may have seen Richard, please contact police, no detail is too insignificant.
“If Richard is safe and well, we ask him to contact us as a matter of urgency so that we can put his family’s minds at ease.”
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting 21MIS008134, or they can call 999 in an emergency.