My dad disappeared without a trace on the way to my 18th birthday party – I have a message for his ‘murderers’
THE daughter of a man who vanished without a trace is begging his murderers to come forward on the tenth anniversary of his disappearance.
Robert Duff, then aged 37, was on the way to his daughter Stephanie's 18th birthday party when he went missing in 2013.
Cops believe he may have been killed that same night after getting into a fight - but his body has never been found.
Ten years to the day, Stephanie has made a desperate plea to her dad’s killers to come forward so her family can finally have peace.
Speaking to The Sun she begged: “Please just finally have a heart and tell us where our dad is.
“We know you’ve killed him. We know he is dead. Just please tell us what happened so we can finally have peace.
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“We need to put him to rest now. It’s been too long. It’s been ten years. We haven't found him or had any real closure.
“His killers know what they’ve done. They’ve seen me and my family in the news, on the telly, suffering. It’s been ten years now, ten years of us suffering.
“One thing I want to say to his murderers is they should know that we will never give up.
“They should give up right now because we will not stop until we know what happened to dad.
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“It's the most horrible thing to grieve for someone and not have a place to visit them. Nowhere. You have to grieve for them without a funeral or anything.
“It’s just horrible. It’s hard to go on in life without putting this to bed.”
Robert has not been seen since January 12, 2013 when he was withdrawing money on Holloway Road, North London.
His concerned family contacted police when he did not arrive at Stephanie's party as they said his disappearance was "completely out of character". Officers attended his flat and forced entry, but there was no sign of him.
A murder investigation was formally launched by police after an appeal brought new information to light in 2018 and two people were arrested and released under investigation.
His disappearance was treated as a missing persons inquiry until 2018, when a new witness came forward following a television appeal.
In 2020 specialist divers searched Highgate No 1 Pond on Hampstead Heath, but nothing was found.
In the ten years since she last saw her father Stephanie has had three kids, and is expecting another.
She said: “They’ve never met their grandad and that upsets me every day.
“My eldest is turning five and she recognises his pictures from the missing posters we put up.
“I tell them stories about him. They call him Grandad Robert and if anyone asks them about him they say ‘Grandad Robert is in the sky’.”
FRESH APPEAL
After being contacted by The Sun, Met Police launched a fresh appeal for information.
Detective Inspector Tom Williams of the Specialist Crime Command said: “Robert’s family desperately longs for answers, and we remain committed to finding him.
“While current lines of inquiry have been exhausted, the case remains unsolved meaning that any new information received would be acted on and thoroughly investigated.
“The search of the No1 pond in Highgate, was conducted over a number of weeks, but sadly failed to provide any results.
“Not knowing what has happened to a loved one is a torment that no family should endure.
"I believe that someone has information about Robert’s whereabouts and why he disappeared so suddenly and it is my sincere hope that someone, who may not have felt able to come forward in 2013, may now be in a position to share with us what they know.
“If you have information please do the right thing – get in touch and help us bring Robert’s family the closure they so desperately need.”
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Anyone with information that could assist police is asked to call the incident room on 0208 358 0200 or dial 101.
If you do not want to speak to police, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online.
