Police renew appeal to find missing Colchester 15-year-old

Ashton Rye remains missing and officers believe he may be in the Greenstead area of Colchester. He was last seen at about 5.50pm on August 19 in Chelmsford. An Essex Police spokesman said enquiries to locate Ashton began as soon as he was reported missing and officers have been carrying out extensive investigations to find him. The spokesman said: 'We're continuing our work to find 15-year-old Ashton Rye and make sure he is safe and well. 'We believe he is in the Greenstead area of Colchester. 'We know some people had questions when we released our initial appeal for Ashton last week. 'Please understand that enquiries to find a missing child begin as soon as they are reported missing. Public appeals are one of a number of ways we try to find someone but we will always carry out extensive enquiries first before releasing details of a vulnerable child more widely. 'This means there can sometimes be a gap between a child being reported missing and a public appeal being issued.' Despite ongoing enquiries, officers have not yet been able to find Ashton and are now renewing their appeal for information. Ashton is described as being about 5ft 7in tall, slim and with short black hair. The spokesman added: 'Despite our ongoing efforts, we have not yet found Ashton and we are asking for the public's help.' Anyone who is with Ashton, or who has seen him, is asked to contact Essex Police immediately by calling 999 and quoting incident 4 of August 20.