Natalie Putt: Father still holds hope as graveyard search continues
The father of missing mother Natalie Putt broke his 10-year silence over her disappearance today, claiming he is desperate for answers on a case which has 'ruined his life'.
David Putt spoke exclusively to the Express & Star as detectives continued a search for his daughter at a cemetery in the Black Country following a tip-off.
Natalie went missing 14 years ago and was last seen leaving her family home in Upper Gornal to go to the shops.
She had an 11-week-old baby, Rhys, when she disappeared aged 17. She would now be 31.
Speaking from his home in Wolverhampton, Mr Putt, aged 60, said: "I've always hoped for the best, I've always hoped she would appear again.
"But this latest search has hit me hard, because now I'm thinking the worst.
"I still pray she is alive, I hope they don't find anything. I want to hear from the police, but I don't want them to tell me any bad news.
"I just need to find out one or another. I need the closure.
"It has been 14 and a half years, and it has ruined my life."
Yesterday, police arrived at Ruiton Cemetery, yards from Natalie's former home in Thornleigh at 5am.
They started the search after receiving what officers described as 'credible' new information.
Officers with police dogs continue to search at the cemetery today.
Mr Putt said: "I don't know who called in, and I don't know what they told police.
"All I know is that police came to my home at 7am on Tuesday, told me they had new information and they were at the graveyard.
"I only speak in builder language, and you couldn't print what I thought when they told me."
Mr Putt is a qualified bricklayer. On the night before Natalie went missing, he saw her at a pub in Sedgley.
That night, he says she stayed somewhere 'unknown'. In the morning he went to work and Natalie reappeared at the home address.
After leaving to go to the shop she was never seen again. She left Rhys at the family home.
When she was reported missing, Mr Putt spoke at a police press conference in Brierley Hill, asking for help to find her.
And despite a major poster campaign by detectives and an appeal on the Missing Persons Helpline, there have been no confirmed sightings of Natalie.
Ten years ago he spoke again when her case was featured in a BBC3 series called Runaways.
Mr Putt said: "If I saw her now I'd give her a clip around the ear and then give her a hug."
He added: "She was a bubbly person, the life and soul of the party.
"She'd do the things teenagers did, go out with her mates, have fun. She was a pain in the butt sometimes, but I loved her.
"I fear, as I am 60, I will pass away before I find out what happened to her."
After the search started yesterday, officers received an anonymous call from a telephone box in Lake Street, around half a mile from the graveyard.
They have since urged the caller to contact police again to pass on more details, saying 'the crucial information could help us solve this mystery'.
