Richard Okorogheye: Mother calls for more help to find missing son

The mother of a west London university student, who has been missing for more than a week, has urged him to come home and called for more help to find him.

Richard Okorogheye has not been seen by his family since 22 March when he left their home in the Ladbroke Grove area.

The 19-year-old, who has sickle cell disease which affects how red blood cells work in the body, did not take his medication or any money.

His mother, Evidence Joel, said the family needed to know he was ok.

"I would tell Richard personally 'Come home, we love you, we miss you terribly. We're not angry, we just want to know you're ok'."

Ms Joel described her son as "a very civilised boy, he's very focused, intelligent, loved by everyone".

She said: "We feel he has been taken away - he went to a friend and something happened there.

"If anybody has seen Richard please tell Richard to come home. Please, tell him to come home. We need him at home."

Ms Joel, a nurse, returned home from work at about 21:00 GMT and assumed her son - who had only been leaving the house for regular blood transfusions - was in his bedroom.

She claims when his disappearance was first reported, police "did nothing".

Ms Joel said officers initially told her Richard was an adult, who could go out and come back whenever he wanted.

"I said he's a young adult with a medical condition and he has left home without his medication. No jacket, no money, so I'm worried, I'm concerned about his wellbeing. I need help, I need them to look for him for me. The response was 'sorry'."

"Every time I called them they said there was no update. If you're doing something there should be a result, no? They kept telling us there's no update - that was not very encouraging."

She added: "It was only Sunday and yesterday [Monday] that I felt like they were doing something."

The Met said it was "following every lead possible" to find the teenager; speaking with witnesses and examining CCTV.

Ch Insp Claire McCarthy said: "Our officers have been working tirelessly to locate Richard, using all investigative opportunities and data inquiries, speaking with witnesses and trawling CCTV."

Ms Joel said her son, who has also in the past been known to frequent the Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham areas, had been "struggling to cope" with his university course.