Kevin Hicks was just 16 years old when he went missing on 2 March 1986 from Croydon, south London. Almost 40 years later, his sister reveals not one day goes by when she doesn’t think about him
An empty chair at the dinner table, an unopened present under the Christmas tree – for the 72,000 UK families who experience a child going missing every year – the festive season can be the hardest part of the year.
Alexandra Hicks, 54, knows only too well how painful Christmas is for families of missing loved ones – after her brother vanished into thin air 39 years ago when they were both just children.
It may have been nearly four decades ago, but Alex remembers the day her 16-year-old brother went missing like it was only yesterday.
A smiling picture of her brother Kevin takes pride of place above her living room TV and she fondly remembers how they both used to love singing along to Our House or Baggy Trousers by Madness.
READ MORE: ‘Policeman broke the news of my son’s death – then 20 years later saved my life’
“It’s not knowing what has happened to him that hurts the most,” Alex, who was 15 when she last saw her brother, tells The Mirror. “Every Christmas I wish for him to come home – it’s been my Christmas wish every year for the last 39 years. It’s only thanks to my grown up children and grandchildren that I’m still here – they help me through the darkest days.”
The Mirror is working with the Missing People charity on our Missed campaign which we launched in April 2025, to raise awareness of missing people in the UK by sharing personal stories in the hope of finding missing individuals. Our campaign aims to bring people home, secure better support systems, and push for a national strategy through petitions and coverage.
The Sunday evening he went missing, Kevin nipped out to buy eggs he needed for a school cooking exam the next day. “The next morning I walked past his bedroom and my mum was sitting on his windowsill looking towards the shop he’d gone to the night before,” Alex says. “I could see his bed hadn’t been slept in.”
Alex’s dad went to the police but was told because Kevin was 16 they would have to wait 24 hours before they could do anything. Fast forward to today and you can report someone missing straight away and while she’s grateful that things have changed, she can’t help but wonder if that had been the case in the 80s her brother may have been found.
By the time you read this article, somebody will be reported missing in the UK. Children go missing for complex reasons, often to escape difficult situations like abuse, neglect, or family conflict, but also sometimes due to being exploited by groomers. Kevin had a happy home life and didn’t seem to have any reason to run away.
Alex’s mum spent eight years looking for her son but sadly passed away without answers in 1994. Their dad died in 2003 without ever finding out what happened to their beloved son. For the last two decades Alex has taken over the search for information as to what happened to her brother and says she’ll never give up hope.
“If you give up hope then what have you got?” she says. “I owe it to my parents to find out what happened to him and to show that he hasn’t been forgotten. Christmas is hard, I feel like an orphan because I don’t have my brother and because both our parents have died.”
But not one to dwell on her grief, Alex smiles when she thinks back to happier times growing up with a brother who was only a year older than her. “When we were little we’d wake up on Christmas Day at stupid o clock in the morning and bicker about who had the most presents,” she says. “At least I have happy memories of us growing up together – nobody can take those away.
“He’s missed out on so much over the years. Because our birthdays are only one year and a day apart it never felt right celebrating my 18th and 21st birthdays – and other milestones – without him.” Clinging on to hope, she says: “I won’t accept he’s dead because we don’t have a body. I don’t think he was groomed like people have suggested, but that could be me being in denial. The police say he was killed that night but where’s the body, where’s the proof?”
A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police said they issued an appeal with a £20,000 reward 30 years after Kevin vanished but it didn’t result in any new leads. It has previously been concluded that Kevin was likely murdered on or after the night he went missing,” she said. Paul Joseph, Head of Helplines and Reconnections at Missing People, said for families of missing loved ones, the festive period is no longer a season of joy.
“When someone you love is missing, life feels paused,” he says. “Every day is filled with questions, with hope and fear living side by side. The absence is constant and can be most noticeable in those everyday quiet moments: the empty chair, the unanswered phone. At Christmas, that absence feels even heavier. Family traditions may continue, but they feel incomplete. A place at the table remains empty, gifts go unwrapped, and celebration is mixed with worry and longing.
“A time when people come together will always be a reminder of who isn’t there. In this difficult time of year, we will always be there for families – offering support, understanding, and a lifeline in the search, so no family is facing the pain and uncertainty of a missing loved one alone.”
Alex says If her brother turned up now she’d give him ‘a slap and then a hug’. “I’d tell him if he doesn’t want to say why he went away, that’s fine. I won’t even ask why he disappeared, he can tell me when, and only if, he’s ready. If he’s watching I’d like to say ‘Kevin, please let me know you’re ok’. And if my brother’s not around anymore, I just need to know what happened – so I can finally put him to rest with mum and dad.”
Missing People’s helpline is available by calling or texting 116000.
