THE parents of missing Rory Johnson-Hatfield have returned to York - three years after his disappearance.

Doug Hatfield and Liz Johnson were back in the city to continue their search - as North Yorkshire Police launched a social media re-enactment of Rory’s last-known movements in a bid to encourage anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact them.

Both Doug and Liz said not knowing what had happened to their son felt terrible, but they still believed he was not in the river, and had not taken his own life.

York Press:

Doug said: “It gets harder, it gets worse. You start fearing the worst. There are times you wonder if you’ll ever see your son again. You never believe you’ll get to this stage, three years down the road. You don’t see that coming. This is why we need to find Rory, we’ve got to get him back home, it’s far too long to be without your son.”

Liz said: “Life just isn’t the same without Rory in our lives. We all need him home. We all miss him dreadfully and life is just dark. It’s dark without that lightness of Rory being in your life.”

York Press:

Rory’s parents also reassured their son that if he was staying out of contact for personal reasons, they would respect that, but urged him to let them know.

Liz said: “If you’ve got your own reasons for not coming home, then we have to understand that. But please get in touch with somebody - Missing People, your dad or me, or one of your friends - and please let us know that you are okay.

“But just remember as well, son, that anything can be made right. Three years is a long time, Rory, but don’t be scared to come home because of the time lapse. Whatever’s gone on we’re here and we’ll get past it. We’re here to support you darling, we love you and we just want to know that you’re safe.”

York Press: CCTV footage of Rory on the night he disappeared

Rory is white, 5ft 11in, slim build, with short blond hair, and on November 19, 2015, he was wearing a round-neck dark coloured top, blue jeans and white and navy trainers.

At 12.32am on November 20, he was seen heading into York with a friend, walking along Tower Street, past Clifford’s Tower. Six minutes later the same CCTV camera picked him up on his own, leaving the city centre on the other side of Tower Street and crossing Skeldergate Bridge towards the Skeldergate/Terry Avenue area of York.

The last known sighting of Rory was on CCTV a few minutes later at City Mills flats, on the other side of the river.

York Press:

Rory’s parents have been critical of the police investigation in the past, but said the high-profile social media campaign was a positive step.

Doug said: “The one thing for sure is that Rory is out there somewhere, we just haven’t located him yet. That’s the problem.

“We’ve got a good chap on our side with the police, with Allan Wescott, and the investigation is still open, so we’re all hopeful that we’ll get Rory home.”

Liz said: “Anything that reaches out to the public, reaches out maybe to that one person that does remember something from three years ago it will be just fantastic. It’s encouraging.”

York Press: Rory Johnson-Hatfield

Doug said: “We want anybody that was here on that evening three years ago at the Christmas markets in York, anybody that saw Rory, to please come forward if they have any information or they’ve seen him since, please get in touch. That’s the message we need to get out there. We’re still searching for our boy, and we’re not about to give up.”

Liz said: “We’ll never give up. We need to find Rory, and giving in isn’t an option.” Anyone with information should phone 101 quoting reference 12150207141.