Missing Denise Jarvis last seen going to camp in Bristol park to ‘get her head sorted’

‘If somebody has seen her, we want her back, because we love her’. The family of missing Kingswood woman Denise Jarvis have made another heartfelt appeal for the 44-year-old to come back home.

The appeal, along with newly-released CCTV images, were issued as part of a programme aired on Channel 5 called Vanished: The Hunt for Britain’s Missing, in which more information was provided on Denise’s disappearance.

Denise went missing on August 3 last year - and she was last seen entering Southey Park in Kingswood by her sister Rachel after an argument with the family.

It has emerged that Denise had just recently broken up with her husband and had gone to camp in the park ‘to get her head sorted’, according to her mother Bernadette, who spoke alongside Rachel for the television programme.

She went in to the park with five bags, said senior investigating officer Det Insp Ben Lavender on the show. Two of the bags had since been recovered; one containing essentials, the other with her ‘keep fit’ items.

Avon and Somerset Police have carried out more than 700 actions over the missing appeal, including searching River Avon in Conham. On the show, Det Insp Lavender ruled out recent sightings in Kingswood in January and Cornwall in March - and said ‘she could be anywhere’.

Rachel said: “My sister was the life and soul of the party, she had a wide friendship group, always the one to have fun. We’ve always been close, only 15 months apart.... Denise was suffering with her mental health and she’d recently gone through a seperation with her husband so she was living with mum and dad.

“She was finding life challenging, it was really sad to see her go downhill and we couldnt get her the help she needed at that time.”

On the night Denise disappeared, Bernadette said: “I’m worried she might have found somewhere, or someone picked her up - that’s my fear, someone has put her in a van and took her and thrown away those bags.

“I won’t stop searching, she’s our daughter and we love her.”

The new image released by police is of Denise on August 2 - the day before she disappeared. DI Lavender said: “It’s quite a distinctive coat…while clearly time has moved on, and she’s unlikely to be wearing the same clothes now, if anyone has seen that coat discarded or if she’s still wearing it, that will jog some memories.”

Speaking after the programme, he added: “We’re committed to getting the answers Denise’s family so desperately need and we’ll leave no stone unturned in our efforts to find out what happened to her.”

If you know where Denise is, or have seen or spoken with her after Wednesday 3 August, please call 999 quoting reference 5222186376, or call 101 with any other information.

An online portalhas been set up featuring our appeal, which will allow people to send information direct to officers working on this investigation. You can access the portal through this link: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/5222C16-PO1