'Our son disappeared on a golf trip 20 years ago - we are still no closer to getting answers'

"After our days it will be sad because who is going to remember him? Other than his sister and his nephew and niece, but after that he’s gone then. We are keeping him alive but after that who will remember him." This is the heartbreaking reality faced by Catherine and Jeff Nutley who, now both in their 70s, have spent the last two decades searching for answers about their son James.

James Nutley, then 25, had travelled to Tenby on the day he went missing on October 24, 2004 to play in a top golf competition. But when he didn’t turn up on the course the next morning his friends raised the alarm.

CCTV footage shows James left the Prince of Wales pub on Upper Frog Street at 11.40pm and was seen again at 11.57pm crossing the road outside the Atlantic Hotel metres from the Giltar Hotel where he was staying. Six people can be seen in the footage walking near James, who never made it back to the hotel, and the following day his wallet and cards were found on the South Beach of the town.

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His family say he had shown no sign of mental health struggles, had just started working at a dream job within the golf industry and would travel up and down the country for the sport he adored. And yet, 20 years since he disappeared, Catherine and Jeff still have no answers about what happened to their son - who is now one of Wales' longest missing people cases.

It was thought that if James had entered the water on the night he disappeared his body would have washed up in Llanelli or Cornwall but this hasn't happened. Searches of the sea near Tenby have also been carried out over the years but with no result. Even a bizarre confession by a local man who told police he had killed James and thrown him in the sea was proved to be false.

Now 20-years on, Catherine 72, and Jeff, 78, still visit Tenby on James' birthday and the anniversary of his disappearance every year to feel "close to him" and to try and jog people's memories but say the search for answers is getting harder as the years go on.

"We went to Tenby on Thursday [October 24] and around to Newport for a couple of days and where we were we've been going there for years, and still nobody knew James was missing. I think 20 years ago if social media was around and things, things would be different.

"Earlier on we did try and promote it and did our own door to door and even then people didn’t know. We go, we walk, we look, but of course times have moved on, 20 years," said Catherine.

"The first couple of weeks were very difficult, we didn’t know what to do. I've said it before, no one writes a manual how you're supposed to react and what you're supposed to do.

"It all comes down to who you surround yourself with and the friends and your family and the support you have. When you’d go in the street people would cross over cause they didn’t know how to speak to you. But then after six weeks of shutting yourself in friends say right come on we’re going out. As my husband said 'what can you do'? You got to get on with it. Got to get on with life."

And while they've had no choice but to try and continue living their life and are now grandparents to their daughter Helen's children, they said they still take every opportunity to share James' story in the hopes to get some answers.

"A lot of people still don’t know James is missing. We go [to Tenby] and we look and we walk and we think ‘nah he can’t have fallen in the sea’ but then what did happen to him?" While it could potentially have difficult memories for the family, Catherine said they actually get some comfort from the seaside town.

Describing leaving after the initial search for her son she said: "As we left the car park we all cried as I think we felt like we were leaving James behind. Now when we got here, it’s not bad thoughts, it never has been. Tenby is the only place you can go to feel near him," she said.

Speaking to WalesOnline last year Catherine explained how now a lot of the people who worked on James' case at the time have moved on. She said that on a recent trip to Tenby two officers who had been with the force for eight years told the couple that they’d never heard of their son. “All the police officers who dealt with the case are now retired, so we’re grateful for anything that can bring it back into people’s consciousness.” Join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news.

Now, through working with charity Missing People, the family have been presented with a reconstructed image of what it is believed James would look like now aged 45. Catherine said it has brought "great comfort" to the family and she has it on display in her kitchen.

"They asked for photographs of how myself, my husband and my daughter were when James went missing and how we are now. We were over the moon with it, I couldn’t believe it. It’s in the kitchen now and I just look at it and think ‘yeah that is how I think you would look.’

"Looking at some of his friends and I think ‘yeah I can see it’. Someone said he may be a bit more grey as my husband is grey. They had everything, his ears seem to be right, looking at his eyes.

"It’s very strange but it brought him back. It gave us a bit of comfort. He’s there, he’s with us." Catherine said over the years the family have often wondered about how James' life would look now, and the photo has re-enforced that.

"All of James’s friends got married, had christenings, weddings, we’ve had family funerals and who is always missing - James. There could be other little Nutleys about, we don’t know. That’s what he is missing out on."

Over the years the Nutleys have endured multiple “nearly” sightings of their son. “The police used to phone all the time. Every time they found a bone, a shoe. But none of it was James". Catherine said she was even convinced she saw him once while on a holiday in Majorca but the man in question left the restaurant they were in before she had a chance to speak to them.

"It's always in the back of your head, I say to Jeffrey ‘did you see that beggar’ and things like that. There’ been a few things over the years and bones have been found but nothing of James. We put out a reward years ago but nothing came of that."

Despite the torment of the last two decades, James' family have never stopped looking for him and say they will "take any opportunity" they're given to make people aware of the case in the hopes to find answers. They say that while the case is still open they only now hear from Dyfed-Powys Police when there is additional information which unfortunately there hasn't been for several years.

"That’s what keeps me going, thinking he’s still out there," Catherine said. "You just have to keep hoping. It would be nice to have answers, something. Now, If you want somewhere to grieve you haven’t got anywhere. After our days it will be sad because who is going to remember him? Other than his sister and his nephew and niece but after that he’s gone then. That’s the sad part, we are keeping him alive but after that who will remember him?"

Catherine and Jeffrey worked with Missing People to create the reconstruction of what it is believed James would look like today. The public can support the search by visiting James’ appeal on the Missing People website. There they can report sightings, download posters and share his story widely on social media and in public spaces.

Missing People’s Publicity Officer, Ndella Senghore, said: “James, if you are reading this, please get in touch. You can call us on 116 000 or email 116000@missingpeople.org.uk. Our service is non-judgemental, confidential, and free. We just want to provide you with the support you need and help you to be safe.

“Our helpline is here to support people who are missing, thinking of going missing, and for loved ones who are left behind. The helpline is free and confidential and is operated by trained staff and volunteers. Sightings and information about any missing person can also be given anonymously through the Missing People website here."