Police looking for missing dad Peter Baglin return to canal for new search with mountain rescue and divers

Peter Baglin left his home in Boothstown at 7.30pm on Wednesday, December 28 and was captured on CCTV at 7.38pm at a Texaco garage on the A580 East Lancashire Road, in Mosley Common.

But his wife Michelle reported him missing when he did not return home from a walk that took him along the towpath of the nearby Bridgewater Canal.

His belongings, which included a hat, phone and headphones, were found there the next morning.

Since then, Greater Manchester Police officers and underwater divers have carried out extensive searches of the canal, between the Moorings in Boothstown and Astley Point, and mountain rescue teams combed the adjoining fields and woodland areas.

They also deployed a drone fitted with infra-red, trawled CCTV and doorbell footage, and continue to investigate any possible sightings.

Today, police search advisors have returned to the canal to carry out a further search, which is expected to last for several days.

They were joined by mountain rescue teams, who are searching the surrounding area, and an underwater dive team.

The drone has also been re-deployed.

Senior investigating officer Michael Sharples, from Salford CID, said: "There is no evidence to suggest the whereabouts of Peter at this time, so this search is just one line of enquiry that we are following.

"Today we are carrying out another search of the canal, where we believe Peter was last seen, as well as the surrounding fields and wooded areas.

"At the time Peter went missing, there were extremely low temperatures and not much boat traffic on the water. This part of the canal is very unique and as such, changes in temperature and the fact the season is changing can impact on how the water behaves.

"Due to this, we have decided to carry out the search again. We will also have the drone back in the air, which is used to access areas that are harder to reach on foot.

"We, and specialist officers from GMP, continue to work closely with Peter's wife Michelle and the family and we are grateful to the multi-agency response that we have received over the last few weeks.

"Not only will we be carrying out these searches, but we will be looking for even more CCTV and Ring doorbell footage. We continue to follow up on every lead given to us and even if you think you can’t help, we urge you to take another look at your footage, just to be sure.”

Peter is 5ft 10in tall, with short grey hair at the side, which is a bit longer on the top, and has a tattoo saying “Michelle” on his neck.

He was wearing a grey zip-up hoody and blue-grey jogging bottoms when he was last seen.

Anyone with information that could help the police is asked to call 101 or use the Live Chat function on the force’s website.

Alternatively, call independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.