Mum's sleepless nights after one year without son

"I'm awake most of the night with my eyes open tossing and turning," says mum Mahjabeen, as she marks one year since she saw her son, Ali Durrani.

The 33-year-old, from Stirchley in Birmingham, vanished after leaving home on 5 February 2025.

He said he was going to clear his head. It was the last time his parents saw him.

"There was nothing found from Ali's computer or his telephone messages to say where he would have gone," Mahjabeen Durrani, 56, told the BBC.

"He didn't take anything from home so that makes it even more unusual.

"As a mom, I'm hopeful that he is somewhere and that hope is going to carry me through the days to come. I know my husband is finding it difficult as well."

Ali, an economics graduate, is described by relatives as intelligent and articulate, someone who enjoys coffee shops, museums, book stores and the outdoors.

He was last seen on CCTV footage on 6 February, the day after his parents last saw him.

Described as of medium build, with black hair and a black beard, he can be seen in those images wearing a green raincoat, with blue jeans and lace up brown shoes.

In the footage, he was seen talking to a woman in a red jacket at the bus stop on Middlemore Road in Turves Green, Northfield.

That happened at about 17:30 GMT and police believe he then walked through a nearby park before his trail went cold.

Despite a huge police operation including drone teams, specialist search officers and hundreds of hours of CCTV footage being reviewed, no trace of him has been discovered since.

Earlier on 6 February, Ali withdrew £250 in cash and went for a coffee but neither his bank nor social media accounts have been used since then, while his passport was left at home.

His white iPhone 12 was last active near the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on 7 February, two days after he said goodbye to his parents.

Ali is thought to have links to Luton, Milton Keynes, Coventry and Nuneaton, where he used to work.

He also used to travel to London to see family and friends, with unconfirmed sightings of him in Ilford in October and November last year.

The Missing People charity believes somebody is reported missing in the UK about once every 90 seconds, with an estimated 10,000 gone for more than a year.

Spokesperson Paul Joseph said there were many different reasons for this but his organisation was there to support families.

"Normally when you think about a year, you're thinking about something that happened and marking a year since it happened," he said.

"For Ali's family, this is something that has been continuous for that time. It's 365-days worth of that pain."

Following a TikTok campaign, relatives have raised £10,000 towards any information leading to a confirmed sighting.

In a fresh statement, a West Midlands Police spokesperson said they had carried out an extensive investigation but unfortunately had not been able to find Ali.

"We would like to appeal to the public for any information that you may have which may assist our investigation and to help us," said Supt Susan Mabbett.

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