The Empty House
When an 82-year-old man suffering from advancing dementia goes missing, a full-scale land and air search is launched.
When Peter checks on his 82-year-old father at home one morning as normal, he finds the house empty. Suffering from advancing dementia, Archie has vanished - leaving no sign of where he might be.
As Sergeant Barry Evans explains:
"You're trying to work out why has he gone missing: is it a physicality thing, he's slipped, he's fallen, he's hurt himself and we need to find him because he needs our assistance medically... Is it a case of he's taken a walk that's too far, that he's bewildered, he doesn't know what to do? Or alternatively, possibly, that somebody has taken advantage of his vulnerabilities, because he's not quite aware of what's going on."
PC Geoff Moore's job is to get as much information as he can from the son Peter: "Family are hurting and you've got to be mindful of emotions but at the same time I've got a short space of time to gather as much information as I can."
As an ex-paratrooper, Archie has been physically fit all his life and has been struggling to accept his increasing fragility. Dementia sufferers are known to travel vast distances when they disappear, and a full-scale land and air search is launched to find Archie.
But as hours tick by without so much as a single confirmed sighting, and a neighbour comes forward with CCTV of potentially suspicious activity at Archie's home address, the police begin to suspect foul play.
Last on
Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
00:03Simple Minds
Don't You (Forget About Me)
00:29Arcade Fire
Scenes From The Suburbs
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Executive Producer | David Hodgkinson |
| Series Producer | Emily Lawson |
| Director | James Incledon |
| Director | Chris Rowe |
| Editor | Michael Harte |
| Production Manager | Deepa Shah |
| Production Company | Blast! Films |
Broadcasts
- Wed 26 Apr 201721:00BBC One except Wales & Wales HD
- Wed 26 Apr 201723:15BBC One Wales HD & Wales only
- Wed 3 May 201700:20BBC One except Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland HD, Scotland & Scotland HD
- Wed 3 May 201700:45BBC One Northern Ireland HD & Northern Ireland only
- Wed 3 May 201701:20BBC One Scotland HD & Scotland only

