KEY POINTS:
Five years after a New Zealander living in London went missing while walking home from work in a snow storm, his family are still hopeful of finding him.
Lee Sheppard was 26 when he mysteriously disappeared from near the northwest London recycling plant where he worked during a night shift early on January 31, 2003.
Earlier that day his wife Juliet had told him she was pregnant.
Since then there has been no trace of him. He left behind his belongings and his bank accounts were never touched.
Last month it was announced Mr Sheppard would be one of 12 missing people to feature in a new campaign started by British charity Missing People.
His image is to be displayed on the side of city rubbish trucks in London.
In February last year British police said they had reopened their investigation into Mr Sheppard's disappearance. The family have also hired a private investigator to help find answers.
Speaking from her Northland home yesterday, Mr Sheppard's mother Rose said the family went into denial on the anniversary of his disappearance and tried to keep busy.
"Otherwise it's just mulling over, rehashing everything you know and it's not very good. It knocks you round a bit," she said.
Mrs Sheppard said she had heard nothing about her son in five years.
"Even, you know, the [British] police they sort of don't give you anything at all. Which is hard.
"They ring up and they've got a new person on the case and they want all the details and you sort of get a bit short now and say 'well, look, read all the details in the file and then ring us'."
Mrs Sheppard said she had not been to London since her son went missing.
There was "no point wandering around just hoping and looking, you need something a little more concrete to go on", she said.
Three months after Mr Sheppard's disappearance his wife returned to New Zealand to give birth to and raise their son, Jaden.
They now live near her parents-in-law. Jaden will start school in September and Mrs Sheppard said he also "wants answers".
"Everybody talks about him [Lee] and we tell him what his favourite food was and things like that but he [Jaden] can't quite relate really."
Mrs Sheppard said the Albany-based private detective they hired had been "working in the background" trying to gather information while he waited for the British police to release Mr Sheppard's file to him.
He would then travel to London. Mrs Sheppard said she thought the British rubbish truck campaign was a good idea and might "glean" some new information.
THE FACTS
* Disappeared in London on January 31, 2003.
* Case reopened by British police last year.
* One of 12 chosen to feature in a fresh campaign started by British charity Missing People.
- NZPA
