Missing DJ Derek ‘chased out of pub’

The family of DJ Derek said they may have come across their “biggest lead yet” in the search for the missing pensioner as they prepared to celebrate his 74th birthday on Friday.

Friends and family – including Derek Morris’ twin sister Shirley – will mark the day together, just over five months since the legendary Bristol DJ vanished.

Jennifer Griffiths, Derek’s great niece, said emotions were high, adding that a continued poster campaign in Thornbury had led to a new claim Derek had been chased out of a pub following an altercation on the night he went missing.

“Since getting the posters out again, I’ve been approached by a DJ who was playing in the Knot of Ropes pub in Thornbury on the night Derek is thought to have been in the area,” she said.

“He said he can remember July 11 when there was an old man who matches the description of Derek in the bar looking at the DJ equipment and checking out the sound system.

“There was an altercation about a drink and the man was chased out of the pub. I’ve spoken to the witness personally and he’s 100 per cent sure it’s Derek. This could be the biggest lead yet.”

Police said the new information formed part of their enquiry and added that officers had returned to the DJ’s flat on Sunday.

Jennifer, 29, and the police urged members of the public to continue to get in touch with any information they may have.

Derek was last seen on CCTV in the early hours of July 11 leaving The Criterion pub on Ashley Road. But Avon and Somerset police say travel card records show he took the 10.32am, number 78 bus to Thornbury on the same date.

Jennifer and a team from the search campaign have plastered Thornbury with posters of the missing DJ asking for information.

As she prepared to celebrate Derek’s birthday on Friday, she said: “I have got so many emotions running through my head right now.

“Every time there is an announcement there has been a body found in a river or something like that you sort of think and sometimes hope it is him, just so we know what happened. I will never give up on finding him.”

She added that Derek’s twin sister Shirley had been suffering with stress as their birthday approached. “She said to me the other day that if she died not knowing what happened to her brother it would be awful,” Jennifer told Bristol24/7.

A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset police said: “Our investigation into the whereabouts of Derek Serpell-Morris continues.

“We have recently gone back into his flat as part of our ongoing enquiries. This investigation remains live and we would still appeal for anyone who might have any information as to Derek’s whereabouts to contact us immediately.

“Any information, regardless of how insignificant you think it might be, could be crucial to this investigation.”

Anyone with information should call police on 101 or contact the family’s campaign via Facebook.