By Talisha Simpson –
56-year-old Huddersfield resident Paul Alexander, known to many as ‘P’, went missing from his family home in Brackenhall on Saturday, 3 February and was last seen on the same day in Sheepridge.
Throughout the month, hundreds of members of the Huddersfield community came together for the search in the hopes of finding Paul.
It consisted of CCTV footage, posters, social media posts, and continuous 24-hour searches underway throughout Huddersfield and its surrounding regions.
A Facebook group set up to help organise the search has seen over 900,000 comments.
Unfortunately, the search ultimately ended in tragedy when a member of the public reported seeing a body in Huddersfield Broad Canal to West Yorkshire Police on Wednesday, 14 February, at 14:37.
The body was swiftly recovered and was soon identified and announced as Paul Alexander, who was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Later that same evening, hundreds gathered together outside his family home in a commemorative candlelit vigil.
Many people turned up outside his house, and an even more significant number of people were online following the vigil, with over 800 viewers.
The Community gathered to pay tribute to Paul with a beautiful candlelit vigil (Video Source: WhatsApp).
The crowd sang the famous Liverpool FC anthem ‘You’ll never walk alone’ as they gathered with their candles.
Paul’s parents were visibly emotional as they said, “God bless you all” to the large crowd outside their house.
‘Keep Shining’
Paul was known to many as being an array of light, bringing happiness and positivity to everyone.
One community member who did not wish to be named, stated: “I saw him about four weeks ago.
“I was going through something, and he didn’t know about it, and he said don’t let them dim your light. Keep shining bright because we are like angels, which resonated with me.”
Paul’s longtime friend, Shaun Morgan, said that a huge thank you needed to go to the community.
“Normal people with families and lives of their own came together to give so much of their time”.
Shaun added that people were coming from all walks of life, from different towns over, and different estates and up to 20 other countries, talking about Paul’s disappearance.
“The amount of support received online was outstanding. A Facebook group set-up resulted in 250,000 people interacting within a week.” Shaun added.
Connected Community
Speaking with other family and friends, their descriptions painted a picture of a community deeply connected in the search for Paul.
One family member stated: “We feel heartfelt that the community came together to help my family to support my Gran and Grandad as they can’t get out that easily.
“So, it made us feel loved and that Paul was also loved within the community.
“They have come together to spread the message everywhere, not only in Huddersfield but outside as well.
“It’s good to know that hundreds but thousands of people loved him, and they did their bit to get him back home.”
“We could have pushed the police more, but it’s one of them where the outcome is no one in the community could have done much more. We did as much as we could.”
“A big thank you to the community for the time they have spent; some of them took time off work, left their kids, and spent money on petrol, food, torches, and gloves to help with the search.”
West Yorkshire Police Statement
West Yorkshire Police are making further enquiries into the death, which is not being treated as suspicious at this time. A file is also being prepared for the coroner.
In a statement provided to KLTV, Detective Inspector Matthew Sykes of Kirklees CID, who is leading the investigation, said: “We have been liaising closely with Paul’s family and appointed specially trained officers to support them both during the extensive missing person’s investigation and now following what has proved to be his sad passing.
“We are keeping the family informed of any developments and are actively investigating the circumstances leading to Paul’s death.
“While those enquiries do remain ongoing, we don’t currently believe there are any suspicious circumstances in the death itself.”
Race Action Plan
In November 2023, the police launched its official Race Action Plan, which aims to ‘create a police service which is anti-racist and trusted by Black people’
The plan says the police want to ensure that the black community doesn’t feel over-policed and under-protected.
When speaking to KLTV, one local resident mentioned the plan, saying: “The police have got a race action plan in place, which they promoted quite heavily.
“They launched it at an event in Huddersfield, talking about the police’s reaction and support, or lack of support, to the black community, specifically the African Caribbean community.
“And here, we’ve got a classic example of somebody needing help and support, and that not being available.
“The community has questions and we need answers.”
Local residents have been leaving flowers, candles and more outside Paul’s home (Video Source: WhatsApp).
‘The send-off he deserves’
Nearly every day since Paul’s initial disappearance, the community came together at the Top Club, Sheepridge, to contribute to the search.
As a result, a GoFundMe page has been set up to give Paul ‘the send-off he deserves’.
The community has already raised over £3,000, with £10,000 being the target.
A close friend of Paul stated, “If it’s 10p, 50p, a fiver and tenner a £100, put it into the pot, and let’s give ‘P’ the send-off that he deserves. Let’s finish it off properly.”