The mother of a boy who vanished 17 years ago has said her ‘heart has been ripped out’ as police put up a £10,000 reward.
Alex Sloley was 16 in 2008 when he went missing from his home in Islington, north London.
There were no signs suggesting Alex, a college student, was planning to run away, as he had no money or extra clothes on him.
His mother Nerissa told Metro she has been living in agonising ‘limbo’ since the Arsenal living teenager went missing.
She said: ‘My heart has been ripped out, I’ve been living in limbo for all these years.
‘I don’t think Alex is going to come back, but there’s always a slim hope.
‘If anyone knows anything, please come forward, please help us. Maybe after all these years, someone will be in a different position in life and can tell us something, especially as now there is a reward.
‘He went out and never came back.’
Of her son, who has two sisters, she added: ‘He is lovely, a family boy.
‘He loved Arsenal, was very good with numbers and has a bright future ahead of him. No family should have to go through this.
‘There was nothing I knew of to explain his disappearance.’
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Detectives are offering £10,000 for anyone with information that could help to find him, treating Alex’s disappearance as an active missing person investigation.
Alex is described as a light-skinned Black man, 5ft 5ins tall and of medium build with striking blue eyes.
Former detective Mick Neville reviewed the case and drew parallels with the case of Andrew Gosden.
Andrew disappeared aged 14 after getting off the train at King’s Cross station in 2007.
Neville told Metro after the reward in Alex’s case was offered: ‘I hope it makes a difference. No parent should be put through what these go through.
‘There were some very unsavoury characters around the area and it’s just s gut feeling but there could be a connection between the disappearance of Alex and Andrew Gosden.’
Alex, an accountancy student at City and Islington College. had little money, no wallet and no bag with extra clothes to indicate he was planning to run away, police said previously.
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Nerissa was left in tears in 2019 when the police released another e-fit of her son.
She said he looked like his father Christopher, who died in 2014 without ever finding out what happened to their only son.
Charity Missing People found previously that missing Black children are less likely to be found by police compared to white and Asian youngsters.
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The ‘heartbreaking’ report found that a lower proportion of missing person cases relating to Black children were solved by the police following Freedom of Information requests to the UK forces.
Missing People charity said: ‘Alexander, 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.’
Anyone with information about Alexander can contact the Met by calling or texting on 07860 369603, while anonymous reports can be made via independent charity Crimestoppers.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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