MANCHESTER City has been signed up by police to help track down missing people.

The club have joined forces with Greater Manchester Police to launch a new initiative highlighting the cases of thousands of people who go missing across the region each year.

At their first home match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday images and information about long-term missing people will be published in the match day programme and on the pitch side advertising hoardings.

Details will also appear on the club website and a different case will be used at each home game throughout the season.

The new scheme was unveiled Kimberley Pierce whose nephew Jordan Ratcliffe went missing from his home in Moston in August 2008.

His case will be highlighted at the match on Saturday.

Appeal

Mrs Pierce said: "I feel happy that City have got involved, and we are hoping that if we put out this appeal, it might get somewhere. "

Jordan is a football supporter himself, and this might come to something - you never know.

"He went missing on August 31 last year, so it's nearly a year now. I dropped him off in town one Sunday afternoon, and that is the last time I saw him.

"It has brought a lot of stress and upset.

"It is like a bereavement - I have brought Jordan up from being young, as part of the family, and it's hard to think he is not there any more.

"I just want him to let us know he is alright, and that he is safe, and I would like him to come home. He doesn't have to come and stay with us, we just want to know, where he is."

City's new midfielder Gareth Barry has backed the campaign. He added: "I don't have first-hand experience of what it is like for someone in your family to go missing, but being a family man I realise how someone going missing could upset your whole family.

Anything that can help re-unite missing people with their families has to be a good thing

Gareth Barry

 "Anything that can help re-unite missing people with their families has to be a good thing.

"Advertising these people at our home games should create a lot of attention, and be good for the campaign."

Det Supt Phil Owen, of GMP, said: "We have worked very hard with Manchester City over the last two months in developing this initiative and are pleased to announce its launch.

"The idea is to highlight some of our difficult 'missing-from-homes' and indicate the difficulties of those cases, and of the cases of missing people right across Manchester.

"We are always looking at ways of appealing, and reaching a wider audience, and City have been very supportive.

"Kimberley has been very brave talking about Jordan, and hopefully the exposure from this being in the programme and on the internet will hopefully ensure Jordan makes contact at some point, if only to re-assure them in what must be a traumatic experience for them.

"We will be featuring a number of difficult cases at every home game. "Just re-uniting one person with their family would make this is a success story."

For more information on the scheme or a missing person go to www.gmp.police.uk 

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