Joy of mum-to-be who has finally tracked down homeless dad after desperate social media hunt
Jess Hickey's delight as she's able to share the news that father David is going to be grandad
A MUM-to-be has thanked the thousands of people who helped find her homeless dad who she hadn’t seen since before Christmas.
Jess Hickey, 20, usually spoke to her dad David Oxton on a daily basis, often heading into Manchester city centre to take him food and blankets.
But having not heard from him since November she made a desperate social media plea to trace him - so she could finally break the news he is going to be a grandad.
It was shared thousands of times - and happily the pair were reunited this week.
Jess said: “On Tuesday evening I wrote a Facebook post saying where I was going to be looking for my dad on Wednesday morning, based on the information I’d been given from the public.
“I said I’d be going to the The Koffee Pot on Oldham Street at about 10am, and when I arrived, I heard him shout my name.
“I hadn’t seen him in ages, his hair had grown and he had this massive fro. When I saw him I joked, ‘I’m going to bloody kill you, everyone has been looking for you.’
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“We had a hot chocolate and a nice talk, I showed him my scan and he said he predicted it was going to be a boy, which is what I’m hoping for.”
It turned out the shack David had built behind a bus stop had been burnt down, and he had to move to a disused building in the city centre. He’d also changed his phone number.
Jess, who is 13 weeks pregnant, said: “He’s staying with his girlfriend and they both seem fine. He said he was really cold during winter and had to keep warm.
"I said if you get too cold come down to mine, but he says he feels like a caged animal when he’s in a house. When we lost contact it was like I lost my left arm, I am so happy I have found him. I asked if he wants to come down for tea. We are going to keep in touch.”
And thanking everyone who had helped share her post, Jess said: “It’s overwhelming to know that everybody was trying to help me. It’s been so tiring, but I really appreciate everybody’s help.”
Jess first met her dad by chance when she was 16 after bumping into him in the city centre. While shopping with friends, a homeless man asked for some spare change.
As she reached into her purse she explained that her dad was homeless.
She recalled: “He asked me where I was from and my mum’s name and then said, ‘Put your purse away Jess’. I was shocked.
“I took a picture to show my mum and she said he had changed, but it was him.”
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