Family pays tribute to "cheeky, but loving" Conley

It is with great sadness and a broken heart that we find ourselves writing this. Words cannot describe the devastation we feel, especially for his mum.

Firstly, the family would be grateful if any members of the community that are casting aspersions relating to Conley ever attending at Locke Park without an adult, either on the day he went missing or before that day, be kept to themselves.

We want to make it very clear that we would never have allowed Conley to go to Locke park without an adult at any time, and the police are tracing his exact movements that night so we will be able to understand what happened and what led to us losing our playful and loving boy.

For any parent, the loss of a child is unimaginable and while everyone is entitled to their own opinion, we would please ask people to bear in mind this is now an actual reality for us, and please be respectful as his mum, and all of the family, try to come terms to a life without Conley.

To describe Conley you would have to say he was cheeky, mischievous and loud, but also loving and caring, with a heart of gold.

As with most boys his age, Conley lived life large and loud, with a zest for adventure and curiosity.

His mum and the rest of the family would like to give a special and heart felt thank you to all the officers, both from the police and the Fire Service, who helped searched for Conley, as well as all the friends, neighbours and members of the community.

You should be proud of your efforts and your conduct throughout and we cannot thank you enough for your help in trying to find him. We would also like to thank Lyndsey and Steve, the Police Family Liaison Officers, who have helped us through this difficult time.

To our local community and the people of Barnsley, as well as to those cross the UK, we have been overwhelmed by the kindness and support shown and we also want to say a very special thank you to everyone who has offered words of comfort and their condolences, it really does means so much to us all.

Thank You.