A SUFFOLK father has said he will never give up hope that his daughter will be found - 30 years after she went missing.

A SUFFOLK father has said he will never give up hope that his daughter will be found - 30 years after she went missing.

When Yvette Watson vanished in 1979 she left behind a heartrending diary, describing her hopes for the future and crying out for help in her battle with depression.

Nobody knows whether the troubled teenager was able to fulfil her dreams because the 17-year-old walked out of a Norwich clinic where she was being treated for depression.

A police hunt was launched but she has never been found.

Her parents, Colin and Enid, who live in Aldeburgh, have had to try to come to terms with not knowing what happened to their daughter, who would now be 47.

Mr Watson said: “We are still hoping that she will be found - but we know it's a long shot.

“At least if we don't know there is still hope.”

The investigation into Yvette's disappearance was reviewed by police in 1999 but detectives wrapped it up the following year saying they had “exhausted all avenues”. The inquiry remains open.

Family friend Richard Raven, from Wrentham, near Beccles, said he wanted to keep Yvette's name in the public eye. When she was 10 years old Yvette was a bridesmaid at Mr Raven's marriage to his first wife, Tina.

He said: “My personal view is that I hope she is still alive, which we all do. When I see someone has gone missing in the papers I immediately think of Yvette. Over the last few years I have been trying to trace her on the internet, but I have not had any luck.”

Yvette's early years showed little sign of the troubles to come. Quiet and a little shy, she seemed to settle well into nearby junior and middle schools.

But by the age of 13 Yvette began to show signs of mood swings and depression. The following year she ran away from home for the first time, hitching a lift to Ipswich and finally returning with her long brown locks cut short.

The involvement of social services in 1976 brought a placement for Yvette at St Michael's in Ditchingham, a school and home which offered special help to troubled teenage girls.

She stayed at St Michael's until March 1978. From there she was admitted to the David Rice Hospital where she responded well to treatment.

By March 1979 Yvette and her parents were beginning to lay plans for her future hoping she would take a place at Ipswich College where she would train to be a nursery nurse.

But their hopes were shattered when the hospital called on March 30, 1979, to say Yvette had gone missing.

Det Insp Andy Guy, of Norfolk police, said: “Yvette was a missing person and she still is a missing person. It is still an open inquiry.

“If any significant information came to light we would follow that up. If anybody has any information or knows anything about Yvette's disappearance we would be delighted to speak to them.”