A distraught wife has begged for help to find her missing husband who left home to go to the pharmacy three months ago and hasn’t been seen since.
Joshua Jones, 29, a binman from Matlock, Derbyshire, left his home at 11.30am on December 12 to go to the pharmacy but never made it.
He kissed his son Luke goodbye and texted his wife Talia to say, ‘I love you to the moon and back’, before switching off his phone on the day he disappeared.
He was seen in a nearby Sainsbury’s at around 12.20pm on the same day but hasn’t been heard from since.
Joshua Jones, 29, a binman from Matlock, Derbyshire, left his home at 11.30am on December 12 to go to the pharmacy but never made it
Police released CCTV images of Mr Jones leaving Sainsbury’s and carrying what is believed to be an orange carrier bag.
A Derbyshire Constabulary spokesman said: ‘Officers have been checking CCTV in the town, reviewing dashcam footage, distributing leaflets in the area and following up reported sightings of Joshua.
‘We are grateful to everyone who has contacted us about Joshua and we would urge anyone with information, no matter how small, to contact the force, quoting reference 518 of December 12.’
Mrs Jones, 40, said: ‘I email him every day to tell him how much I love him.
‘I’m not coping well and he was the glue that held our family together. Our two-year-old, Luke, points at his photo and asks for his dad. It’s heartbreaking.
‘If you’re reading this Josh, I’m sorry you felt the only option that day was to leave. I’m sorry and I love you so much. We miss you so much. Please just come home.’
He was wearing blue jeans and a grey Superdry coat with lighter grey sleeves while the hood was bright green on the inside.
He kissed his son Luke goodbye and texted his wife Talia to say, ‘I love you to the moon and back’, before switching off his phone on the day he disappeared
Mrs Jones, who married her husband in 2017, said: ‘I know in my gut he is out there and that he is alive. I’m in a dark place but still so full of hope.’
She added that the Derbyshire Police ‘couldn’t have done more’ but because there is a lack of CCTV in the area it was hard to spot Mr Jones.
Locals have rallied to help the heartbroken wife and raised a reward of over £1,000 for information that leads to finding Mr Jones.
While Mrs Jones isn’t sure why her husband disappeared she has revealed that the couple were under some stress in the lead up to Christmas.
She added that Mr Jones suffered with anxiety but delayed going to a GP. And she said that the couple also had dreams of going ‘off-grid’ one day and disappearing.
She said: ‘I wish I stopped him from leaving. People fall out all the time. We had a beautiful relationship and I never thought he wouldn’t come home.
Mrs Jones, who married her husband in 2017, said: ‘I know in my gut he is out there and that he is alive. I’m in a dark place but still so full of hope’
‘His car had broken down the day before and we’d just paid over £600 to get it through the MOT.
‘It broke down at a terrible time because we still hadn’t sorted the Christmas presents for my two girls and our son, the rent was due and we hadn’t done any Christmas food shopping.
‘We couldn’t ask family for money again because we had already done that.
‘He texted me hours after he left to say it wasn’t my fault and he loved Luke, the girls and he loved me to the moon and back.
‘That’s always been what we say to each other.’
Talia also revealed Joshua was suffering from heightened anxiety because of the pandemic.
She added: ‘He said he felt trapped. Our main thing we did together as a couple was go to the pub for a pint. That’s how we met and it became our thing.
‘We used to take Luke and we’d go as a family. We always sat at the table where we went on our first date. But all that came to an end.’
She added that the Derbyshire Police ‘couldn’t have done more’ but because there is a lack of CCTV in the area it was hard to spot Mr Jones
The pair met in 2016 while both were on separate nights out.
Talia and her friends were playing pool when Joshua slapped down 50p and said he’d play the winner – which happened to be Talia.
She recalled: ‘I tracked him down on Facebook a week later. It was his eyes for me, they were striking.
‘We met up in a pub for a date and I asked him what he did for fun. He said he loved reading and that one of his favourites was 1984.
‘I almost fell off my chair because it was mine too and most men wouldn’t say that as an answer. We just bonded over books.
‘We just hit it off right away and before we knew it hours had passed and we were the only people left in the pub.’
The pair then married in June 2017.
Talia added: ‘Josh is just the kindest, most gentle, intelligent man I’ve ever met.
‘He is so intelligent and we always say we ask Joshua rather than Google.
While Mrs Jones isn’t sure why her husband disappeared she has revealed that the couple were under some stress in the lead up to Christmas
‘When we met he said all he ever wanted was a family on his own. He didn’t want the fancy car or the high paid job.
‘He totally dotes on his boy and he’s such a hard worker. He gets up at 5am every morning and comes home, takes off his uniform, and gets on with playing with Luke.
‘I’ve loved him from that first night at the bar. I just want him home.
‘I believe he’s still alive and he’s maybe out in the woods. He has survival skills and we used to joke about leaving behind the ratrace and going and building a treehouse together.
‘I just think he needed some time on his own.
‘But I now want him back home. I don’t have anger and I won’t even ask questions. I just want Josh back where he belongs. Please, if you can, help me find him.’
She added that she feels no anger or resentment towards her partner and that if he were to return home there would be ‘no questions asked’ because she simply wants to know he is safe.
Mr Jones is described as 6ft tall and of slim build with blue eyes and brown hair. He has a sleeve tattoo on his right arm that includes a Japanese koi carp, a dragon and a crane.
He has a tattoo on his left wrist which says, ‘to the moon and back’ in his wife’s handwriting.
He also has a moon with a red rocket and rune letters on the inside of the same wrist.
A spokesman for Derbyshire Police said: ‘We are grateful to everyone who has contacted us about Joshua and we would urge anyone with information, no matter how small, to contact the force, quoting reference 518 of December 12.