As its name would imply, Newbridge was the name of the land surrounding the New Bridge that was built across the river Ebbw towards the end of the 18th century.  

Back then, Newbridge had a low population and was an area made up of rural farms and sheep pastures before the coal mining boom of the 19th century attracted workers from all over Britain, creating a thriving town most recognized for its productive workers.  

As times moved on, developments were added to increase leisure facilities in the area and by 2013, Newbridge was more notably known as the hometown to world champion boxer Joe Calzaghe… But it would now also become remembered for a more sinister reason. 

It doesn’t take long for Kyle to settle in after the move. 

He was excelling at maths, was a dab hand with computers, and had even made himself a circle of great friends… 

 Though Alan had another son from a previous relationship, Kyle was Mary’s only child, and whilst Alan spent time working away from home to provide for the family, Kyle and Mary shared an inseparable bond.  

Mary had survived cancer in the past and was also diabetic, so was not always feeling her best, but family-oriented Kyle, would always ensure his mother would eat regularly and cater to her needs. Alan often joked, that if he ever called Kyle’s mobile phone, Kyle wouldn’t always answer, but if Mary called him, he’d answer on the first ring.  

It was not just Mary who shared a great bond with Kyle though, as Alan would regularly take him to work away with him as an engineer, showing him the ropes of how things were done, as well as teaching him about the mechanics that made a car.   

From a young age, Kyle, who was also affectionately known as Vaughanny to his friends, developed a passion for rock music. Mary and Alan bought him a set of drums, which he had taught himself to play perfectly from scratch, and In 2012, Kyle even began organizing, and promoting for live music bands from around Europe to play gigs at the once legendary, live music venue called TJ’s, in Newport, a place Kyle particularly enjoyed. He had even held several events to raise money for the cancer charities that had helped his mum when she herself had fought the disease. 

By now, Kyle was doing well in life and had even found himself a job in production technology at Unilever, a local Pot Noodle factory, where, according to Alan, he was well liked by his colleagues and always gave ‘110% to whatever he done’.  

But while he took his work in life seriously, Kyle always made time to take part in a healthy social life too, regularly meeting up with friends, whether it just be for a few beers, attending the concerts of his favourite bands, or just going to parties, singing and dancing to the music he loved.  

RYAN: “Our friendship group was people who went to school together, so as we got older and people went to college and stuff, like, other people naturally joined the group, And Vaughanny, like, he just come out of nowhere, at this house party once, and because it was such a tight friendship group, if there was someone there that we didn’t know, everyone was like, who’s this guy? Where did he come from? So, I could remember seeing him dancing to some Ska music, and it was a song that I liked as well. So, I was like, oh, I’m going to go check out this new guy. And I would dance with him. So, we were just dancing like a pair of young idiots to this ska music. And then when the song finished, I was like he said, yeah, I’m Ryan, nice to meet you. And then we had a beer and got talking and discovered we like lords of the same music. And then, yeah, from there we just sort of hit it off. Every time I picture being at Scar Content, I picture him dancing, swinging his arms about the biggest smile on his face in the middle of a dance floor. He was brilliant. He didn’t care where he was. He was always happy to express his love and emotion for music”. 

That was Kyle’s good friend Ryan. I had the pleasure of meeting with Ryan to talk about his memories of Kyle. We agreed to meet in a back garden bar. It was the first time I had ever done anything like this, and I understood this was such a sensitive subject. So, to say I was nervous was an understatement… But I needn’t have been. As soon as Ryan entered the room, he looked around at the humorous wall plaques, neon lights, beer pumps and surround sound speakers before saying, ‘What a perfect setting to talk about Vaughanny. He’d bloody love this Mun’  The ice had been broken, and as he begins to share his most memorable stories of Kyle, It’s clear he is reliving the scenes in his mind, as a huge smile spreads across his face, his eyes, visibly gleaming with pure love.  You’ll hear from Ryan later. 

But where was Kyle now, and what exactly happened that night? 

On the 30th of December 2012, 24 year old Kyle Vaughan is at the home he shares with his parents, Mary and Alan in Newbridge, South Wales. The day started like any other, and like many young men his age, Kyle was in and out of the house, socialising throughout the day, before having dinner with his parents, then getting himself ready. Tonight, he plans to enjoy the final day of the weekend at a house party. At 5:00 p.m., Kyle leaves his home, and heads to the West End area of Abercarn,  the location of the house party.  

It is unclear how long Kyle spent there, but at some point, during the evening, police say that Kyle left the party to visit some friends at a pub in Risca. According to the police, Kyle entered the bar and was seen talking to his friends for a brief time before leaving the unnamed pub and getting back into his car to make the journey back to the party to continue his evening….. He never made it back to that party… 

Had Kyle disappeared at his own accord? Maybe he was concussed after the collision, had fallen somewhere and couldn’t call out for help? Or, had something more sinister happened?  

When police arrived at the scene of the incident on the A467. It would soon become obvious that the extensively damaged silver, Peugeot 306 had been abandoned.  

Once the confusion over who the Peugeot belonged to had been cleared up, Alan felt a father’s intuition that something bad had happened to Kyle. They were used to Kyle staying out after a party, or a night on the town. He was a young man and he and Mary had never held him back from enjoying his life, but he’d never failed to call or text to let them know where he was, no matter what, so Alan just knew…something was very wrong. 

He remembered Kyle telling him about some threatening text messages he had received the day before. Alan informed the police, hoping they would take his concerns seriously. But despite the strange circumstances, and the fact that they couldn’t contact him, Kyle’s parents were told they could not file a missing person’s report until the following day.  

Desperate to locate their son, Alan and Mary reached out to friends and family on Facebook, and immediately tried to make contact with Kyle’s friends, in the hope that somebody might know where he was. 

With no clues to Kyle’s whereabouts, the next day, Alan attended Blackwood Police Station to file a missing person’s report, where he was told that Kyle had been admitted to the Royal Gwent Hospital in the City of Newport, around five miles from where Kyle was last sighted.  

But this information turned out to be false. there were no reports of Kyle attending that hospital, or any hospitals in the surrounding areas either. Why did the police think he was there? 

All Kyle’s parents had been told so far, was that the police believed that around 11.45pm, Kyle had somehow lost control of his silver Peugeot 306 on the A467, likely due to the adverse weather conditions, before it had then made impact with a tree at the side of the road, careered across the second lane, made contact with the central reservation, skid back across the road, before coming to a stop when the rear end of the car had embedded itself  into the trees at the side of the carriageway. They also suggested that Kyle may have been trying to hitchhike after the collision.  

Mary and Alan wanted more details, but the police appeared to believe that Kyle was probably just hiding out somewhere and would turn up when the dust settled a bit. 

Later that day, Alan went to see Kyle’s vehicle which by now, had been transported to a storage lockup by police. Alan recalls the Peugeot being so damaged, he wondered how Kyle could have even walked away from the accident alive, but the police informed him, that he definitely had, as 2 undertakers had informed them, that just moments after the collision occurred, they were forced to stop their vehicle as debris from the collision had scattered in the road in front of them. They pulled over and began talking to Kyle. They described Kyle as being mostly uninjured and a little shocked, but they saw nothing that led them to believe he was intoxicated in any way that night. The exchange of words during their conversation is uncertain, but at some point, Kyle had asked the undertakers, if they could give him a lift somewhere? but, as they were carrying a deceased body on board their vehicle, it would be against the company policy to give Kyle a lift for obvious reasons, so the undertakers had no choice but to decline. A decision that would haunt them for the rest of their lives. 

When the conversation came to an end, the undertakers returned to their vehicle and saw Kyle walking along the same side of the carriageway he had been driving before the collision occurred, in the direction of what’s known locally as the New Moon Roundabout, before eventually losing sight of him. 

Hearing witnesses had reportedly seen and spoken to Kyle after the accident, should have been a source of relief to Alan and Mary. But as more hours passed by with no sign of Kyle, certain he would have suffered a concussion at the very least, and fearing their diabetic son, who relied on insulin injections could be seriously unwell, their desperation to locate him intensified.  

Alan asked the police to conduct searches of the area where Kyle’s abandoned car had been found, but claims they refused this request due to health and safety reasons. Fearful Kyle could be laying injured somewhere, and believing the police weren’t taking Kyle’s disappearance as seriously as they’d have liked, family, friends and work colleagues volunteered their time to help conduct searches of their own. As they walked shoulder to shoulder, searching the rough and uneven terrain for any clues that would lead to Kyle, Alan would take a nasty fall on the side of a mountain, fracturing his ribs. Despite everyone’s best efforts, there was no sign of him. 

But just days later, there was news… 

NEWS REPORTS ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT IN KYLE’S CASE 

On the 10th of January 2013, locals noticed police activity in the area significantly increasing, and then came the announcement nobody wanted to hear…. the police were no longer treating Kyle as a missing person. They had escalated the case to a murder inquiry.  

Furthermore, they had arrested a 27-year-old male from the Blackwood area on suspicion of murder. Detective Superintendent Peter Jones, the senior investigating officer on the case, told the press:  

“Specialist search officers have been deployed and have conducted detailed searches of several areas over the last week. These searches have included the use of a search dog. Family liaison officers are providing Kyle’s family with support at this very difficult and upsetting time”.  

As word began to spread, residents of this small town were rocked by the news. Apart from the odd minor crime, Newbridge was typically an uneventful place. Over the course of the next two weeks, the arrests just kept coming….including a 62-year-old male from Newbridge arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. A 21-year-old male from Newbridge arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. A 15-year-old male from Abercarn, arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. A 24-year-old male from Blackwood arrested on suspicion of murder. A 22-year-old female from Newbridge arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. Then a further two people from the Cwmfellinfach area, a 27-year-old male and a 28 year old female arrested on suspicion of murder.  

As everyone tried to absorb the news that nobody wanted to hear, Elizabeth Birt, now a reporter for the South Wales Argus, who lived local to the scene at the time, recalls her memories as the case began to unfold:  

ELIZABETH BIRT: “It was quite late when it sort of unfolded, but I do remember that there was quite a lot of a police presence the following day around the area, which was unusual. This whole valley has always been quite quiet. There’s the occasional time where you might get some assaults or things like that, but most of the time if you see police going past, they’re just going through to somewhere else. So having the police around was kind of weird. And then obviously we shared what had happened and like, the location where it was, was only just up the road from me. In the initial period I was watching it unfold, normally things are quite like cut and dry. Pretty much straight away, you’ll know, like, okay, this person’s gone off on their own or this person’s died. But it wasn’t like that. It was just kind of, this person’s gone missing. We don’t know anything other than his car was here and that was it. From now it turned into a murder investigation, which was really strange because it was like, well, the public hadn’t been made aware that it was being looked at as a murder investigation until it was” 

The news that Kyle was believed to have been murdered, came as a devastating blow to Mary and Alan, as they struggled with the reality of never seeing their son again.  

Although they knew, deep down in their hearts that Kyle was never coming home, Alan and Mary still held on to that tiny piece of hope, that the police had somehow got it wrong, that Kyle would walk back through the door at any moment and his infectious smile would light up the room once again. 

It was a traumatic time, but through the darkness, Kyle’s heartbroken friends, who had always been welcomed at the Vaughan’s home when Kyle was growing up, were providing a source of comfort to Mary and Alan, as they leant on each other for strength and support.  

Despite being in England, training with the Royal Air Force at the time, Ryan, still desperately tried to contact his friend. He’ll never forget the moment Alan, nicknamed George by Kyle’s friends, first broke the news that Kyle was missing. 

RYAN: “When Vaughanny went missing, I can remember, George contacted me at first, and he just said he’s missing. I just thought he’s just probably gone on a wild weekend and his phone died. He’d probably pitch up on Monday or something…Sitting with it for a while, I was thinking, well, no, because even though he’d have big weekends, he still always check in with his parents or his friends and if he was on a barney with George or Mary, he’d still check in. So, I guess the more I thought about it, the worse I become thinking, oh, my days! what’s going on?  

And then of course, I tried messaging him myself. I tried phoning him at first, then I messaged him on Facebook, and I could see someone typing a reply and I was like, wow, look, he’s typing back to me now. And then it turned out someone else had his phone. I was like, who the hell are you? Why have you got his phone? Where is he? What’s going on? And this guy’s explaining things like, he’s missing, and he left his phone in his house and whatnot. And I can remember thinking, well, where is your house? Where are you? I’m not telling you that. Our friends were just saying, sit with it. The police are on it, they’re going to get them back, don’t worry about it. I just sat with it and waited. Kept in contact with George, hoping that he’s messaged to say, oh, yeah, he was just at so and so house and I thought it’ll be okay. I was quite optimistic. The hope didn’t last long. The story unfolded of what likely happened, my heart sank. I didn’t want to believe it.  

I thought, well, maybe that was a cover, maybe he just ran off and he’s laying low for a while, you know. As time went on, I was like, okay, people have done searches and things. There’s no way he’s hiding somewhere, especially seeing as he needed his insulin. He wouldn’t have lasted long without that, well without going to a hospital at least. So it got scaringly real, really quick”. 

While the police begin the process of questioning the eight arrested suspects, detective Inspector Jones, leading the investigation, tells the press: “eight people have been arrested during the course of the investigation. We are committed to finding out what happened to Kyle that night and since. And we won’t stop until all avenues and lines of inquiry have been exhausted”.  

Meanwhile, Kyle’s family have created a Facebook group with the intention of widening the appeal to assist in the search for clues, which quickly gathers hundreds of members. But they still aren’t finding the answers they so desperately need. And one by one, as the eight arrested suspects are released on bail pending further investigation, Mary and Alan are left confused. How could their son just vanish without a trace? And why is nobody being held accountable? Nothing seems to make any sense.  

They just want to know what’s happened to their son, to be able to lay him to rest, and see those responsible face justice.  

Shortly after, police begin putting up signs displaying Kyle’s photograph, which run along the A467 stretch of road where Kyle was last sighted, appealing to the public for any potential information that may help the investigation. And as the Facebook group gathers pace, the community rally around in support for one of their own, walking the streets of Newbridge and surrounding areas, in the most challenging of weather conditions, handing out flyers, pinning up posters, pulling together to help in any way they can.  

Others. Including complete strangers from various parts of the world, light candles at night, in the belief that the glowing lights will guide Kyle back home. The Facebook group is proving to be useful, as a steady flow of reported tipoffs and hearsays relating to the case are conveyed to the family and police to investigate.  

The majority of people who contact the family, do so with the best of intentions to offer potential help the inquiry, then there are the cruel hoaxers, who would falsely describe in graphic detail what had happened to Kyle and where his body was located, as well as mediums who truly believe they know details about the case. This is distressing for everyone involved, but for Mary and Alan, it’s pure torture. The constant roller coaster of emotions by having their hopes raised and then dashed again, begins to take its toll on them. Where was their son? Somebody knew something!  

By mid-March 2013, an agonizing ten weeks since Kyle vanished, Alan and Mary visit the incident room to be shown the search operations for themselves, and they are shocked to discover the immense scale of the inquiry. 

There are a team of detectives from the Gwent Police Major Incident Team, forensic experts, and almost 50 officers working around the clock, trying to uncover the circumstances surrounding Kyle’s disappearance. Gwent Police tell the South Wales Argus that they have analysed over 1800 items of property, more than 100 lines of telecoms data, 200 hours of CCTV and taken more than 230 statements from the public in relation to the investigation.  

By now, specially trained search officers and cadaver dogs have been deployed, in the hope of locating Kyle’s body, and Seven Area Rescue Association, known as S.A.R.A, who have also joined the Operation, begin trawling sections of the River Ebbw, which run alongside the A467 carriageway where Kyle’s abandoned Peugeot had been found.  

Police also launch a fresh campaign, targeting rugby fans traveling to and from Cardiff central for the Wales versus England’s Six Nations Decider game. Large posters are erected at the station. British Transport Police and Arriva Trains put-up posters of Kyle on part of the South Wales Valleys rail network, hoping to jog the memories of anyone who may have any information relating to the investigation.  

Gwent police also create a Facebook advert, aimed at people whose Facebook accounts are within the area of the police force. Detective Superintendent Peter Jones tells the press: “We hope the Facebook advert and the posters targeting the rail network on a busy day for travel, will jog somebody’s memory and lead them to call us with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Just one bit of information could provide a major breakthrough to our investigation”  

In their own efforts to gather more exposure, Kyles family & friends organise an awareness walk in a bid to reappeal for information. Encouraged to wear red in recognition of Kyle’s favourite football team, the public are invited to join the walk to “demonstrate a community united by the unanswered questions surrounding Kyle’s disappearance.   

On the 30th of March, as supporters turn out in their droves, Mary and Alan hold a large banner displaying a photograph of popular Kyle with the words ‘Walk with us’, as they lead the sea of red supporters, to begin marching through the streets of Newbridge.  

Along the route, they hand out flyers containing information about Kyle, before finally reaching the Memorial Hall to begin a raffle of prizes donated by kind business owners in the community. They’re donating the funds raised to the Seven Area Rescue Association, the charity assisting in searches for Kyle as they feel sure their kind hearted son would have wanted to give something back to S.A.R.A for their continuous efforts.  

The walk was a success and generated an abundance of support from the community and beyond, with one woman writing on the Facebook group page, ‘I travelled up from Cardiff to show support for Kyle and his parents today. Although I live in Cardiff, I am an LSD girl originally, and I couldn’t sit back and do nothing while one of our own was suffering. The valley’s spirit is that everyone sticks together, so I had to take part in this walk’.  

The show of support gives the family some much needed comfort, and they are beyond grateful for everyone’s efforts, believing they will finally get the answers they need to find their son. But sadly, no new information was found and as the weeks passed, the search and investigative efforts from the authorities appeared to be dying down… They need a miracle. Then Alan receives some additional information that could potentially change everything! 

Alan is informed that the undertakers had witnessed more than he’d initially been led to believe. As you’ve already heard, the undertakers spoke to Kyle briefly before observing him walk off towards the New Moon roundabout. Moments after they began to drive off to continue their journey,  they claimed, that as their vehicle’s lights illuminated the road ahead, they saw a stationary car further ahead at the side of the road. And just as they came to pass this vehicle, they saw someone forcefully pushing Kyle into the unidentified motor.  

They say the event had taken place very quickly, so they were unable to determine the license plate details, the number of occupants, or the make and model of the vehicle. Remember, this happened shortly before midnight. The bypass would have had little lighting, and it was raining heavily that night. So, taking the conditions of visibility into consideration and the fact that the undertaker’s vehicle was in motion at the time of this occurrence, it would be reasonable to understand why the witnesses could not provide any further helpful information. 

But who had pushed Kyle into that unidentified vehicle? Why had they taken him? What had they done to him? And where was he now?  

When Kyle had moved to Newbridge from the tough city life of Newport, we know he hadn’t found it difficult to make friends, and as Alan talks about Kyle’s closest friends, he describes them as family. He has a nickname for each of them, and as you know, they call him George. He recalls how he and Mary once held a party for Kyle’s 21st birthday, with over 90 of his friends turning up to celebrate with him. Their home was so crowded that Mary and Alan had to sit on the curb outside, and by the time they were ready to go to bed, they noticed several of Kyle’s friends had fallen asleep in different parts of the house and garden. Though this may be considered evidence of a good time, Mary and Alan could be forgiven for the feeling of dread they felt when imagining the mess, they’d be presented with the next morning. But to their surprise, when they woke the next morning, the house was spotless, with Kyle and his remaining friends playing Monopoly on the living room floor. 

It was clear to everyone around him, that Kyle’s loyal social circle meant the world to him and played a huge part in his life. Whenever there was a planned meetup involving his group of friends, Kyle would very rarely be absent. But over time, as the brotherhood started maturing, priorities began to change within the friendships. Some of the group had entered new relationships. Some were busy welcoming children of their own into the world. Some were tied down to long working days, and some were moving on to pastures new, making new lives for themselves in different parts of the world. So as the dynamics of the group began to alter, some friends have suggested that Kyle may have felt a little deserted around this time.  

But neither Alan nor Mary saw any changes in Kyle that would call for any cause for concern. He was still working at Unilever and was even beginning to make some new companions too. On the surface, Kyle appeared to be adjusting well to the changes happening around him. From everything I’ve learned about Kyle’s life so far, I found it unimaginable that anyone would want to harm him…  

However, Kyle had unintentionally gotten himself onto the wrong side of somebody and had been involved in a disagreement via text message on the day of his disappearance, even receiving threats of violence from that person. Furthermore, it has been suggested that Kyle’s movements leading up to the collision may not have transpired in the way it had been portrayed by the police. And even more shockingly, the collision itself may not have been caused by Kyle losing control of his Peugeot after all, but rather, a very deliberate act of somebody chasing him off the road.  

Throughout the investigation, the police and Crimestoppers released information to the public, suggesting that Kyle had briefly visited some friends at a pub in Risca on the evening of his disappearance. Yet, there seems to be an element of mystery surrounding this version of events, and to this day, Alan still hasn’t been informed of what pub Kyle had supposedly visited. Why hasn’t this information been made public? And who had witnessed him even ever being there in the first place?  

Alan has his own ideas as to how the events of that night might have panned out. And to be fair, from what I have seen and heard so far, Alan’s theory could definitely be a possibility. 

He says that Kyle had confided in him that day, that he had been arguing with someone via text message, and due to the reputation of this person who can’t be named for legal reasons, Kyle was concerned for his own safety after receiving threats of physical violence. Alan says, he believes further words were exchanged between the pair via text messages whilst Kyle was at the party, and at some point, Kyle left the party and travelled to a location in Risca that I won’t disclose, to meet up with this person, with the intention of trying to sort out their differences. It’s not known for certain if this was before, or after he had supposedly visited the pub, but Alan says that when Kyle reached the location, he was alarmed to discover there were several people there waiting for him. Realizing he was outnumbered and most likely fearful for his safety, Kyle turned his Peugeot around and took off before the situation could escalate.  

At this point, Alan theorizes, that Kyle was spotted by the group as he tried to drive away, which would lead to them pursuing him in their own vehicle, until they eventually reached the A467 bypass. He believes Kyle’s car was then chased by the pursuing vehicle, which caused Kyle to lose control of his Peugeot, resulting in the collision.  

If Alan’s ides of how events might played out that night are correct, this would mean, that after the pursuing vehicle had chased Kyle off the road, they had then pulled over further up ahead, lying in wait? In the rain and darkness, Kyle hadn’t realised they had stopped, likely thinking they had carried on up the carriageway after witnessing the collision. After his conversation with the undertakers, he began walking toward the new moon roundabout, and just as he unknowingly reached the vicinity of the mystery vehicle, 1 or more persons ambushed him, before forcing him into their vehicle and driving off.   

Now I’m not saying this is what happened, but the idea, that the alleged culprits just got lucky, by spontaneously passing the exact person they were looking to harm, on that dark road at that exact moment does sound rather far-fetched, but hey, I guess it’s not impossible?  

The next day was New Year’s Eve and several of Kyle’s friends felt sure he would turn up to their arranged get together that evening. But as we know, he didn’t.  

ROBERT: “When Kyle disappeared. Remember quite vividly where I was and where many of us were. There was a party arranged at ABACON Rubber Club. We’d all arranged to meet there after the Christmas period. Seeing all your friends and the New Year and everything all kind of in one. I remember that I was texting him, I think that day, what time are you coming down? Other people were texting him a few years from him, not haven’t heard from him yet. Oh, okay, well that’s quite normal. Maybe he’s coming a bit later or whatever. And then it became quite clear that he wasn’t coming. And we were all a little bit surprised really that he didn’t join everyone because it certainly felt to me that his friends were kind of his life, our social circle was very important to him in that evening, I think George got hold of me, was like, oh, have you heard from him? No, I haven’t, but I’ll let you know vividly. Remember not being able to sleep that night thinking some it’s not right with this, this is strange. And my override in feeling uneasy. The very fact that he didn’t turn up and didn’t get in touch, it wasn’t like him. If you messaged him to say nothing, he would at least reply, yeah, see you later, or no, I can’t make it to him. So it certainly felt uneasy and uncomfortable when I realized that he disappeared. Of course, I hoped he would turn up well and happy and that this was all sort of some big misunderstanding. I personally had a bit of a feeling all along that there’s something else kind of going on here because it was very out of character for him to kind of shut off contact with everyone because as I mentioned earlier. I felt like his social circle was one of the most important things for him and that seeing his friends and being around everyone and being together was something that he kind of lived for and looked forward to. So to completely cut off contact with his friends was highly unusual and that led me down the path of believing that something isn’t right. And in addition to that, really, it was completely unheard of that he at least wouldn’t have got old of his mother and father because he was extremely close to his mum and dad. To just completely shut them off like that, I don’t think he would have been happy with the worry that that would have caused his mother.  

That was Robert, another good friend of Kyle’s: I didn’t get the opportunity to personally meet with Robert due to the geographic distance between us, but we did manage to arrange an audio chat. I had already sent him a list of the questions I wanted to ask in advance, so he knew what to expect, but right from the start of our conversation, Robert stated that he hadn’t wanted to re-hearse his answers, so he would respond based on how my questions triggered his response during our chat. He is very polite, well spoken, and not afraid to say how he feels. Despite leaving Newbridge to begin a new chapter of his life with his partner Sarah, shortly after Kyle’s disappearance, he still remembers the moment he discovered that Kyle had been presumed murdered…  

My reaction to finding out that he’d been murdered, that was confirmation of the very worst scenario that I’d kind of already played out in my mind the other being that he just kind of gone missing of his own volition, made a mistake, got lost, whatever form that takes. But when I heard the M-word – Murder, that’s such a big thing that only happens on TV and in films. It doesn’t really happen to people. I know. So, my reaction was despair, disgust, horror, disbelief. The emotional effect it’s had on us as Kyle’s friends has been multifaceted and different for everyone. I wouldn’t like to speak for anyone else. I will say that the big group of friends that we did have, and I know Kyle’s father has alluded to this as well. We were a bit of a unique group in that there was a lot of us, that were very, very, very close, and any combination could sort of be together at one time and have a good time. So we were all big group of friends from school, very close and tightly knit. So it had quite a deep emotional effect on it. Everyone but you could just see, looking out, people were processing it differently. Some reacted with anger. Myself, personally, I reacted with anger. Others reacted with despair and sadness. We lent on each other a lot”. 

In recent years, Robert and Sarah went on to get married. They live a few hours away from Newbridge now, but despite the passing of time, Robert still affectionately remembers Kyle, and wants to see justice done for his friend.  

During my previous conversations with Alan, he had insinuated that, at times, it felt as though the police had almost given up on Kyle. Although they felt a great appreciation to the police and their efforts when the searches eventually began, he suggested that if they had taken his and Mary’s concerns seriously in the first instance and acted sooner, there could have been a greater possibility of finding Kyle’s body and any potential evidence to hold those responsible to account, preventing years of additional agony for Kyle’s loved ones. And Alan isn’t the only person to feel that way either : 

ROBERT: “There’s a few different elements to the story that are unjust. I’ve got no problem sharing my opinion on those things, which are he was murdered, taken from us too early. But I’m also of the opinion that the police didn’t do the very best that they could and that there is criticism of the way his case was dealt with, picked up on and concluded”. 

I reached out to Gwent Police, offering them the chance to participate in this episode. But understandably, as I’m not an accredited member of the press, they kindly declined my offer, adding that information is publicly available online. 

But in the interest of public confidence, I wanted to try to understand what decisive actions, or lack of, the police may have taken in those first twelve days of Kyle’s disappearance.    

You may be familiar with the term the Golden Hour? Although this isn’t strictly limited to just 1 hour, the Golden Hour is a term used, to refer to the period immediately following an offence, when any potential evidence is abundant and readily available. According to the core investigation doctrine 2005, positive action in the period immediately following the report of a crime can minimize the attrition of material and maximize the chance of securing any material that could be admissible in court.  

Going off the timescales provided by Alan, it appears Kyle’s car was swiftly removed from the scene after the police had discovered it. Were any positive actions imposed before the Peugeot was towed away? Had the surrounding area been examined that night for any material that could be admissible in court?  

When Alan notified the police about the threats Kyle had received and his diabetes, plus the fact that he’d been involved in an obvious collision and nobody could contact him, I would like to believe that the police would have assessed the situation, and placed Kyle into the category of a high risk missing person, before allocating recourses to begin an urgent attempt to locate him.  

But that wasn’t the case!  And according to Alan, the police didn’t begin conducting searches until twelve days after Kyle disappeared. Twelve days!  

This delay of positive action, could have given the person or persons responsible for Kyle’s disappearance, a significant opportunity to create alibis for themselves, dispose of Kyle’s body, and discard any potential evidence, including in part, clothing, phones and vehicles.  

South Wales and Gwent police are separate forces with their own jurisdictions, However, both forces do collaborate in certain instances, including the investigations of major crimes.  

Both forces have faced public and professional criticism over the years. Most notably, for their handling of the Cardiff Five, Which led to the wrongful conviction of five men relating to the murder of Lynette White in 1998, then there’s the alleged flawed investigation and corruption regarding one of the worst crimes in British history, known as the Clydach Murders, In which Mandy Power, her two daughters aged eight and ten, and her 80-year-old mother were all bludgeoned to death in 1998 as featured in episode 3 of True Crime Britain, and more recently, allegations of police brutality, misogyny, racism, sexual misconduct, homophobia. Bigotry, corruption and perjury within the forces have also come to light. 

Chief Constable for Gwent police, Pam Kelly has publicly confirmed that an external independent probe into some of the allegations will take place in the near future, However, as far as I can tell, South Wales Police have pretty much remained silent on the issue. 

If I’m being completely honest, there have been more than just a few occasions during my research that I’ve thought, ‘wow, the police haven’t followed this up yet?’ or, ‘Something isn’t right here’. Now, Despite the highlighted negative press surrounding Gwent and South Wales police, I’m not going to speculate that this is the case here mind you, because we have no idea what goes on behind the scenes, but in my opinion, it just doesn’t appear that all stones have been turned. But I do believe it is fair to expect that more could, and should have been done at the earliest opportunity in those early days. Had that been the case, maybe Kyle’s loved ones wouldn’t be where they are now, 10 years on, still praying for a resolution  

And yes, while I will acknowledge that the police did eventually conduct a large scale search, the thing that still doesn’t sit right with me, is the undeniable lack of action during that crucial golden hour period. Maybe everything that came after those first 12 days was just bureaucratic box ticking? I don’t know!  

But in cases like this, delays in action seem to happen all too often, occasionally, with devastating results. And in those cases, I’m sure the loved ones and general public, would have much more respect for the police if they held their hands up and said “Yeah, you know what, in hindsight, we can see we did drop the ball there, and that’s regrettable. But this is how we intend to move forward… Because stonewalling the loved ones of a victim, and brushing them off with the occasional public announcement of “We’ve left no stone unturned”, when, in some cases, it’s evident, they have, just creates extra untold and unnecessary stress to an already despairing time for everyone affected. 

Based on what I’ve managed to piece together during conversations with Alan, and Kyle’s friends, it’s fair to assume, that the attendees of the party Kyle attended on the 30th of December, were NOT part of his usual, long standing friendship circle. Nobody can seem to pinpoint how Kyle got to know these people. Could they be some of the companions he had befriended as the dynamics of his original friendship group began to alter.  

Maybe they know something that could be vital to the investigation?  

Additionally, Alan says, Kyle never went anywhere without his phone, yet, he didn’t have it with him that night after he left the party. I find it odd, that Kyle would drive to a location where he knew he could face harm, from a person with a proven reputation for violence, and not take his phone.  

I’m not going to say much more about this, as it’s still an open investigation, and I don’t want to say anything that could compromise the course of justice in any way , However, I do wonder, could it be possible, that Kyle’s phone had been deliberately taken by somebody before he left the party, so he wouldn’t get the opportunity to call for help? Remember, someone had responded to Ryan when he’d tried to contact Kyle in the early part of his disappearance. How and why did somebody else have his phone and access to Kyle’s messenger? This is definitely something I believe should be looked into more thoroughly. 

By June 2013, Crimestoppers had issued an appeal for information regarding Kyle’s suspected murder and issued a reward of 5000 pound. by that November,  police had analysed more than 1800 pieces of personal property, approximately 4800 mobile phone contacts and over 100 lines of telecoms data, including text messages. But unfortunately, by December that same year, Kyle’s loved one’s were hit with another blow, when it was decided by Gwent police that five of the eight people who had been arrested would have no further action taken against them in connection with Kyle’s disappearance. The two men arrested on suspicion of murder had their bails extended until April 2014, and a teenager arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, was still under investigation.  

Detective Superintendent Peter Jones spoke on the first anniversary of Kyle’s disappearance, saying: 

“This Is one of the most extensive investigations I have worked on and being a year on without finding Kyle is obviously extremely difficult and upsetting for his family”. 

He also reminded the public that they remained committed to finding out what happened to Kyle. 

Family and friends had by now been searching for Kyle, and justice for almost a year, and there was even more bad news to come…..In February 2014, Kyle’s mother Mary, announced that she had been diagnosed with liver cancer ….and it was terminal.  

Mary expressed her final wish – To see Kyle finally be buried before she died. Alan wrote in a letter to the public at the time: 

ALAN: “Mary has terminal cancer and does not know how long she has left. All she wants to do is bury her son before she dies. What hurts the most is that there are people out there right now who could put us out of our misery, but they are choosing not to. We wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone”. 

Another year passes by with no huge developments in the investigation. And then, in February 2015, the three individuals who had remained under investigation, were released without charge, though Gwent police continued to insist that the case was very much still an active investigation. But it seemed that every lead that came in led nowhere, and eventually, almost 4 years after Kyle vanished, he was formerly declared presumed dead by the High Court, and in May 2017, a touching memorial service was held for Kyle at St. John’s Church in the city of Newport, where loved ones shared their fond memories of a dear Son, brother & friend, described as always being there for everyone, warm, kind, selfless, funny, and charming.  

Later, as Mary’s health deteriorated, it was decided the time had come to close the Facebook page down. But Mary continued to hope and pray that Kyle would be found before she died so they could be buried together. A mother and son, reunited in death! 

MARY’S NEWS APPEARANCE 

But it wasn’t to be. On New Year’s Day 2018, almost five years to the day after Kyle disappeared, Mary passed away at just 56 years old.  

In her final moments, Alan begged her not to leave him. Realising he couldn’t stop the inevitable, he made Mary a promise, that he would spend the rest of his days looking for their boy. He would do whatever it takes, to reunite her with her beloved son! 

Alan tells me, that if Kyle was still alive, he would have been a perfect match to donate part of his liver to Mary, with the potential to save her life. And he believes Kyle would have jumped at the chance too, as he would do anything for his mother. So, in theory, he says, when Kyle was murdered, Mary received a death sentence too.  

Kat, co-creator of the Missing Adults and Children in the UK Facebook page has consistently volunteered her own time to provide a considerable amount of help and support to Alan in The Search for Kyle, describes the heart-breaking effect Kyle’s murder has had on Mary and Alan over the years: 

KAT: “I followed Alan’s case since Kyle first went missing. Heart-breaking, watching what him and Mary, they were doing their all to find Kyle, and then Mary gets him poorly. His case is quite different because Kyle hasn’t been found. He’s out there somewhere. They can’t move forward. And the fact that people know where he is and what happened, and yet nobody’s willing to give up on that. The fact that Carl was taken from him, not by choice. It wasn’t Kyle’s choice to go missing. The worst form of cruelty any parent can go through. Losing your child, no matter how old, is hard. But having your child taken the way Kyle was taken, for somebody else to decide that your child can’t live any longer, it’s cool. For Alan, Kyle probably would have been a match for Mary to have a transplant, which Kyle would have done without even thinking. So, Alan believes that this took her life as well. But for me, when she should have been planning what time, she had left with her husband and son, doing the things that she wanted to do, that was taken away from her because she spent that time in pain, walking the streets, looking for herself, they were constant campaigning. I know Alan spent thousands on posters and banners, walks so much. And when she was in pain, when she was dying, she should have been entitled to dignity. But that time was spent trying to find Kyle to lay him to rest. And the thought that these people can be walking past you in the street, knowing what they’ve done or knowing who the perpetrators are, must have been around us for her as it’s around us for Alan. Alan’s not in great health. He’s not very well. All his focus is found in Kyle. That is all he focuses on. He’s so angry, and you can’t blame him for his anger. He’s heartbroken as well, because he believes he’s letting him down. That promise about two minutes before she died, he can’t move forward from that because he made the promise his son was taken from him clearly had the most fantastic relationship with his mom. Did Kyle. You can hear his voice breaking when he’s talking about it. He’s talking to Mary’s picture. He talks to Kyle’s picture every morning. He says good morning to them every night he kisses them and says good night. He’s done that from the get-go. He says, It’s all right, Mary, it’s a cat on the phone. He’s going to help us find Kyle. That is his focus in life. That’s awesome. It’s not a lot to ask for, just for somebody to just say where Kyle is so he can carry out that promise and they count to her”. 

In many cases like this, the authorities don’t give too much away to the public. And as frustrating as this may be, it’s an understandable and necessary tactic to protect the integrity of an investigation… but that doesn’t stop people speculating. And in this case, it appears that for the most part, locals believe they know what happened to Kyle, who was involved, and for what reason. At one point, there was even a large banner hanging from an overpass above a busy bypass, naming the person allegedly involved in Kyle’s disappearance, as his murderer. But for everyone else, it was a guessing game. Why would a 24 year old man suddenly disappear?… And soon, the gossip began.  

ROBERT: “He’s been misjudged by a lot of people because, you know, I was out one day in Newport in a cafe, and I think it was around about the time the police had renewed their appeal for information and started putting posters up. And I remember overhearing someone say,  

“Oh, that’s that druggy kid from the Valleys that went missing. God, they’ve never found him”.  

Because he had tattoos, and he was into music. People had the wrong idea about who he was, and I think he’s been misread and misrepresented”. 

I agree, and while people are focusing on the theories and rumours, it’s easier to overlook the facts, that a young man had his life cruelly taken. Nothing can justify that! 

Personally, I haven’t come across a single person with a bad word to say about Kyle. Can you imagine anyone ever wanting to hurt Kyle? 

ROBERT: “I can imagine people hurting Kyle. Yeah. Because the elements of his personality that we found the most endearing and that we liked most about him, could be described as being his own downfall. He was a very accepting, open and warm person that could be abused by people. He was the sort of person that would go along with something that wasn’t in his best interest because someone had told him that that was the best thing to do. And he was open to manipulation in that way simply because of sort of guy that he was. And I think the very fact that we had the big group of friends that we did protect a lot of us from those kind of elements, from being led into the wrong groups of people, from being led down certain paths. Because we were all quite tight and quite sensible and quite grounded people, we lent on each other in that way. But I think if he were to get into the wrong conversation with the wrong person at the wrong time, he could have been led down a path that wasn’t exactly in his best interest”. 

So, what exactly happened to Kyle Vaughan, and why? 

According to a message Alan has shown me, which appears to come from a reliable source, Kyle was murdered that night, because someone had taken exception to the fact that he was dating a particular female.  

The author of this message, goes on to detail exactly who was involved in the crime, and where Kyle’s body was believed to have been taken immediately after his murder. I cannot share the entire content of this message, but I can tell you, that it was incredibly uncomfortable to read.  

As the probable final moments of Kyles life played out in my mind, his lifeless body, dumped like rubbish, concealed and alone, I think of where he might be now if he hadn’t crossed paths with evil that night. 

Kyle could have been traveling the world now. Maybe he’d be married, he might even have children of his own. He’s missed out on so much. He’ll never give a best man speech at his friend’s weddings He didn’t get the opportunity to potentially save his own mother’s life and be there with her as she grew old. His family and friends will never again, hear that infectious laugh I’ve heard so much about. All his plans, hopes and dreams for the future, pointlessly snatched away! 

Kyle was a loving son, a brother, a grandson, a cousin, a nephew, an uncle and a very dear friend. For those privileged enough to have known him, Kyle’s absence will forever be felt.  

RYAN: “Vaughanny was such a positive, vibrant person, like, so nice with everyone. I never remember seeing him argue or be nasty to anybody. I just remember him always smiling, always having a laugh, just saying nice things about people and just being a nice person. I can’t think of anybody that wouldn’t get along with him. He would go out of his way to be friends with anybody. Yeah, he’s just such a lovely guy to have around”. 

Those responsible for murdering Kyle, those who may have helped cover up in any way, and those who know more than they’re willing to share… Your hands and lives will always be stained by the crime you’ve committed, and continue to commit, as you watch Kyle’s loved ones continue to suffer. 

As you celebrate Christmas with your families this year, think of the empty chairs where Kyle and Mary once sat…. As you look forward to the new year ahead, think of Kyle’s father, still stuck on that fateful night when his world changed forever.  

The first time I ever spoke to Alan on the phone, I wasn’t really sure what to make of him. He got straight to the point. He’d never heard of a podcast before, so he wanted to know what it was and what I expected to achieve from it. He was character that’s for sure. 

We spent hours on the phone that night, and again the next, and several more over the weeks to come. If we talked about something interesting in the case, he would pause the conversation, and relay it back to a photograph on his wall of Mary and Kyle, and if he sent me a text, he would often sign off from Alan, Mary & Kyle. This  

What I learned about Alan was, if you say you are going to do something regarding Kyle’s case, you do it! Yes, this could come across abrupt and even a little scary at first, but I quickly understood, that I was just another person, from a long line of people who had made promises over these last 10 years. He’d been let down and lied to, on many occasions… How did he know I was going to be any different? 

But what I also learnt, was despite his own pain, he always tried to make others smile and laugh. Yes, he has the odd outburst & meltdown from time to time, but who wouldn’t in his position? He’s isolated, he’s lost people he believed to be friends as he continues the fight for justice. By his own admission, he’s in a club nobody wants to be in. And that must be a lonely place to be… Yet, despite this, Alans perseverance is unwavering. He is a man on a mission. A man who will never give up. A man who isn’t afraid to speak out… Because this is a man, who has nothing left to lose. 

ALAN: “Ten years ago, I had everything. I had a son, a wife and some bastard took it away from me. My Mary spent her final years searching and hoping and praying that we would find our son’s body. But Mary did not get a final wish. No mother should go through what she went through. Karl is still out there denial of didn’t be of a proper burial and being buried with his mother who he lives so much because I made a promise to my Mary on a deathbed that I’ll keep surgeon that I will never give up until Mary’s only child, that Mary’s eye son Kyle would be found. My health isn’t good. I’m not living anymore. I’m just resisting. I don’t sleep, I can hardly eat because I’m consumed 24 hours a day with finding house. And I’m in a club I know wants to be in. But as long as I stumble brief, I’ll keep searching. I’ll talk to column. Mary told her every day. They know I’m getting close to the truth. But I’m tired. My world has been torn apart by eight people who murdered our son. So, I am just hoping there’s someone. And I know there’s people out there that knows what ocean. And I know they’re too scared to talk because they’re scared of the family. It’s not that hard to give us a location of college body. Surely, we deserve that. The people that are still walking around in our community, they don’t care what we’ve done to our son or us. They only care about not letting the truth come out. I have many ups and downs with the police over the last one years. But despite everything, I have got full confidence in this new police officer and he has promised me he will find out son’s body and bring the people to justice. I still have faith in them, and they will find out son’s body eventually. But with everyone’s help, who knows that people are killed, their son will get him sooner. I will keep my promise to my Mary and I will never give up until I deliver that promise to reunite Kyle with his mum. But I just need that final piece of puzzle to be able to reach him and make that happen. Carl did not deserve what happened to him. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. And Mary and I did not deserve to lose in this way”. 

The ripple effect of Kyle’s murder has impacted so many people, in so many ways, as Ryan and Robert know only too well… 

RYAN: “It’s made me wish I thought about things a lot more before I did that, because Born used to tell me quite a lot when I left at the Air Force, like how much he missed me and stuff. When Born went missing, I haven’t seen quite a few months. Just thought if I just didn’t join the Air Force and I stayed in South Wales, start thinking myself, maybe I could have done something. We all grew up together, I moved away to the Air Force, people move around the world and I guess he didn’t want to move. But then when we all did, I guess the majority of people that used to hang around with just went around anymore”. 

ROBERT: “The emotional effect it had on us was obviously we reacted as a group of people losing their friend at far too young in age. But I think even in our young age, we reacted in quite an adult way. We were able to talk, process things, be there in any way we could for Mary and George as well, because they’d lost their son, which is something that should never happen to anyone. It never really affected our friendship in a negative way, it just strengthened it, if anything. Every year on the anniversary of his disappearance, I do a bit of a post and been doing like a Zoom pub meet. We all get a couple of beers in, then we all just have a drink and we just talk about him and tell some funny stories. We usually invite George along and Mary used to join in on the chat as well when she was with us. It is quite therapeutic and it’s still painful, but talking about him makes me smile. What I would say to his father and his family and the rest of us as friends is that we should continue on, never forgetting him, sharing stories about the sort of person that he was and hope that we’ll get an answer as to what happened to him”. 

RYAN: “I just say that I miss you so much and I’d give anything for you to just be here now with your friends and family. Where you belong. Where I know he was most happy, and I just had how much I love him. How much looking friend he was. Not only to me. But to anyone I knew him just wanted to know what a positive impact he’s had on so many people’s lives and what a truly brilliant person is on the inside and out”. 

Despite Alan appealing on BBC’s Crime Watch roadshow, in 2021, Crimestoppers doubling the reward for information leading to a resolution in the case to 10,000 pounds, some promising new tips coming to light, as well as the recent discovery of fragments of human remains, to date, no considerable progress has been made. 

It’s been 10 years since Kyle was last seen. 10 years since he was Murdered. That’s 10 years of heartache and uncertainty, not just for Kyle’s loved ones, but for the whole community of Newbridge.  

10 long years of seeking a resolution. For more than 3650 days, a young man has been lying somewhere, cold and alone, denied the opportunity to be respectfully buried, with the dignity he deserves, alongside the mother he loved so much.  

Please, take a long hard look at the photo of Kyle on my social media pages and share it far and wide. Hear Kyle’s story.  

If you think you might know something, please say something! Don’t talk yourself out of it by dismissing it as irrelevant. Let the authorities assess the value of that information.  

In cases like this, it’s not unheard of for police to overlook something significant in those early days. If you have already spoken to the authorities regarding something you felt might have been significant, and nothing came of it. Don’t be afraid to follow it up. Call the police again and ensure you’re being heard!  

In my personal opinion, there wasn’t enough action from police in those early days of the inquiry. Maybe everything that came after those vital first days, was just bureaucratic box ticking. Who knows? But, this case CAN still be solved. There’s one tiny piece of information out there, that can tie everything together. 

There are multiple people who have direct and indirect knowledge of what happened that night, and know where Kyle’s body lays. Maybe you know more about Kyle’s final movements that night? Maybe you’ve heard something you’ve never shared before?  I am asking you, on behalf of Kyle, his loved ones, and the community, to please co-operate. 10 years is long time to carry that burden. It will never go away. Now, more than ever, please speak up! 

In loving memory of Kyle, Mary and Becky, may your beautiful souls rest in eternal paradise.  

Thank you for listening. I’d like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to Kyle’s father Alan, Kyle’s friends Ryan and Robert, Kat from missing adults and children in the UK and Elizabeth Birt from the South Wales Argus.  

To stay updated on Kyle’s case, you can follow the dedicated Facebook page Justice for Kyle Vaughan. 

If you would like to find out more about what Kat does, You can find her dedicated page on Facebook, Missing adults and children in the UK.  

To read some of the informative articles and an in depth timeline of events Elizabeth Birt has written on Kyle’s case, please see the links on the episode description. 

You can find further details and photo’s relating to today’s episode on our website @ www.truecrimebritain.com 

Were you on the A467 that night?  Did you see Kyle? Did you see anything that could help the investigation? Kyle was 5ft 8ins tall, with dark hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a dark coloured beanie hat, a dark coloured T shirt, three-quarter length denim shorts, white trainers and a gold chain. This is an unusual choice of clothing for that time of the year, so he probably would have stood out!  Think back to that time… 

Christmas 2012 was just five days earlier. James Arthur had just made number one in the charts for the second time with his song, Impossible, knocking he ain’t heavy, he’s my brother, by Justice Collective into second place. David Cameron was our current Prime Minister here in the UK. While in America, Barack Obama was the President. Popular Christmas presents that year include the likes of the Wii U console, the PlayStation 3 and the Leap Pad Explorer, Whilst Borderlands 2, Dishonoured and Diablo 3 are frequently played video games at this time.   

If you have any information relating to Kyle’s disappearance, no matter how small or insignificant you think it may be, please contact Gwent Police at 101 and quote the log number 397. Of the 30/12/2012 or contact Crimestoppers completely anonymously on 0800 555 111, or, if you prefer, you can contact Rhiannon@TrueCrimeBritain.com via email, where all information will passed onto the relevant authorities on your behalf. 

Episode Credits: 

Host – Rhiannon Doe  

Voiceover – Kwesi  

Website layout & design – Fran Howard  

 Sources: 

Justice for Kyle Vaughan | Facebook 

Facebook 

The disappearance of Kyle Vaughan from Newbridge almost eight years on | South Wales Argus 

Newbridge Kyle Vaughan disappearance family’s plea | South Wales Argus 

Kyle Vaughan: Nine years since Newbridge man’s disappearance | South Wales Argus 

Newbridge man Kyle Vaughan’s disappearance a decade on | South Wales Argus 

Missing man Kyle Vaughan’s father told of human remains find | South Wales Argus 

‘My son was murdered but the people who did it have never been brought to justice’ – Wales Online 

Kyle Vaughan murder: Mum dies not knowing son’s fate – BBC News 

Arrests, rewards, and enduring mystery: The timeline of Kyle Vaughan’s disappearance – Wales Online 

Gwent Police to face misogyny, corruption and racism probe – BBC News 

Dozens of Welsh police officers charged with crimes over past five years – Wales Online 

Newbridge, Caerphilly – Wikipedia