Damien Nettles disappeared from the Isle of Wight on November 2, 1996 when he was 16. The investigation into his disappearance has been ongoing ever since, with five men arrested in 2011, although no charges have been brought.
The case has, over the years, attracted significant media coverage, in part due to its mysterious nature – Damien was last seen in a fish and chip shop near his home on Cowes, and then never again, indicating his murder. Surviving CCTV footage shows Nettles trying to order at a local chip shop, in a confused state. Multiple witnesses from the evening claim he appeared heavily intoxicated, or looked "spaced out", and his friends recall him possibly trying to acquire drugs. However, other footage of the night in question was lost by Hampshire Police, preventing the full corroboration of witness accounts which had begun to piece together a narrative regarding Nettles' last movements. As reported in the documentary Unsolved: The Boy Who Disappeared the police originally claimed that the man responsible for collecting video footage had lost the tapes after police had returned them, but records relating to evidence proved that was not the case. In episode five of Unsolved: The Boy Who Disappeared Nettles' mother expresses frustration at the police's handling of her sons disappearance, which had led to an official complaint on her part. Frustration is also expressed at the police's refusal to be interviewed about the disappearance for TV in 2016, and although the police maintain that Nettles' case remains open she states dissatisfaction about what this actually entails. Nettles' mother comments 'if they'd done it right the first time I wouldn't be here now'. Crucial records, including the log of calls made to police that night are gone, police notebooks were not retained, and even details of which officers were on duty that night have now been lost. There have been several public campaigns to bring attention to his case.
In the time, various theories have emerged to explain Damien's disappearance, including that he owed money to drug dealers. Rumours have persistently alleged that a local drug dealer, Nicky McNamara, who was in the area on the night Nettles vanished, was involved. Witness accounts include recollections of McNamara holding up a boy against a wall whose physique matched Nettles'. Associates of McNamara's were arrested, and released. The documentary Unsolved: The Boy Who Disappeared also mentions rumours of McNamara shortly after Nettles' disappearance referring to himself as a 'damned man', and of him incinerating suspicious objects outside his house. The documentary also mentions McNamara possibly making a 'deathbed confession' about Nettles before dying of a heroin overdose. In 2013, the police put up a reward for new information leading to solving the case.
On 25 July 2016, a BBC Three series, Unsolved: The Boy Who Disappeared, was broadcast about the case.