We’re facing Christmas without our mum after she disappeared without a trace… we still leave chair for her at the table
THE mother of a missing woman has said her family are facing another Christmas without her and still leave a chair for her at the table.
Denise Jarvis, 44, was last seen in the area of Southey Park, South Gloucestershire, on the evening of August 3, 2022.
That remains the last confirmed sighting of Denise, who is from Kingswood.
of Denise, recorded on the day before she went missing, show the coat she was wearing when she was last seen in the park – a grey, thigh-length sleeveless coat.
Cops also released images of two of Denise's bags which were found in the park.
However Denise had other bags with her which have not been found.
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Her mother Bernadette Lake has now spoken of her disappearance on the eve of Christmas.
She described how the festive period is particularly painful for her parents, sister Rachael and her 13-year-old son Lucas.
Bernadette said: "She has still got her new life in our attic. Her clothes, shoes, handbags, hats and other bits - she was a very stylish girl. She couldn't leave those bits behind and I can't see her without it.
"Maybe she's gone off and had a new life. But we want to know she's safe and in a good place. That's all you want for your child as a parent as at the end day, it's her life but we're worrying that she's not safe.
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"That worries you as you wonder where they have gone and not been found."
She continued: "We have a missing part of our lives. Denise is missing, there is a missing chair at the table and the family miss her.
"She is still here with pics. She was a vibrant person - she would come into the room and it would light up and there was an energy with her.
"She was smart, intelligent, and would speak to me every day and ask 'What are we doing mum?'. She would never leave it this long. With her son Lucas at Christmas time, she would do everything for him. He misses her terribly."
In a direct emotional plea to Denise, Bernadette said: "Just come home and we are missing you. We want you to be happy and we love you.
"Just come back - you are part of our lives and all we wanted was the best for you and that's what we, Rachael, Sam and our extended family all want for you."
Detective Inspector Ben Lavender, the senior investigating officer, said: "We remain extremely concerned about the welfare of Denise.
"She has not been in contact with her family or friends since 3 August, and there is currently no evidence of her using a phone or accessing her bank account since this date.
"During the course of our inquiry we have reviewed dozens of hours of CCTV.
"While unfortunately we have not located any footage of her since she went missing, we have retrieved some from the days and weeks before."
DI Lavender added: "Enquiries are very much continuing and there will be further searches conducted, as we do everything we can to find out what happened to Denise.
"In addition, we're continuing to review phone and communications data, as well as past financial transactions, and are speaking with all known relatives, friends and associates of Denise.
"We did have a report of a recent sighting of Denise in Kingswood, which we are following up, and we'd encourage anyone with information to come forward as soon as possible.
"We'd ask people to contact us direct with all sightings, so we can follow them up as soon as possible.
"If you know where Denise is, please call 999 quoting reference 5222186376, or call 101 with any other information.
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"We have also launched an online portal featuring our appeal, which will allow people to send information direct to officers working on this investigation.
"You can access the portal through this link: "
