Annie Conolly lies in a cemetery with a space next to her name on her headstone – left for her husband who vanished 22 years ago today.

She never accepted that she was a widow and right up to her death 11 years ago, she would sit in her wheelchair at the front of her house hoping Herbert would walk past the garden hedge and up to the front door.

Annie, known as Doats, died without finding out what had happened, and even now, her family are desperate to find out what became of Mr Conolly.

He walked out of his Rochester nursing home on August 19, 1994, and was never seen again.

It was the third time Mr Conolly, then 70, had gone missing from the Copper Beeches home in Sylewood Close, having been found safe and well on the grounds of Rochester prison nearby, and then vanishing overnight before being found cold but unharmed near the former Comet store in Maidstone Road.

Jason Ryder, who was just 11 when his grandfather went missing, is now appealing for information as he and other members of his family try to bring closure and gain peace of mind.

Mr Conolly came to Medway in the 1950s from Ireland and lived for more than 30 years in Chapel Road, on the Isle of Grain.

He worked at the BP Refinery and he and his wife had three children, Myrtle, Hilda and Robert.

When he went missing he had three grandsons and a granddaughter on the way, but since then another grandson has been born.

Mr Ryder said: “My nan and auntie Hilda went on the television at the time to appeal for information, and the local paper featured his disappearance, but it led to nothing.

“There were a few unconfirmed sightings of him in Tunbridge Wells, but we don’t think he could have got there. Again, the sighting came to nothing.”

Mr Ryder, 33, who lives in Hoo, said: “He was very ill and just shuffled along and he had Alzheimer’s disease.

"We just want to be able to lay him to rest" - Jason Ryder

“Before he had to go into the home, he had a dog called Scooby and we sometimes think he got confused and thought he was taking the dog for a walk as he would say the dog was with him in the home.”

Despite police involvement and a poster appeal by the Missing People charity, no trace of Mr Conolly was found.

Mr Ryder added: “Now I am a dad to Bella and Peter, and I’ve not been feeling well of late, it has made me think about what happened to grandad more and more.

“My nan was wheelchair-bound when he went missing, but she still went out to try to find him and we put posters up everywhere.

“My auntie Hilda has also passed away now and so she never got to find out what happened to her dad either.

“We’ve never been able to have a funeral for him as no body has ever been found.

“When my nan died my grandad was mentioned as a memorial at her funeral service and he is mentioned on her gravestone and there is space next to her for him.

“We just want to know once and for all what happened to him, so if anyone does have any information we would like to hear about it and I would urge anyone who knows anything to contact Missing People.

“We know he’s probably not alive. If he was, he would be 92, but we just want closure on the situation to find out once and for all what happened.

“We just want to be able to lay him to rest. My mum is 60 this year. I just want to bring his disappearance to a conclusion for everyone’s sake.”

The charity Missing People runs a free, 24hr and confidential helpline supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

The service provides non-judgemental practical and emotional support to both missing people and their families and we are also able to take anonymous sightings and information about missing people.

Anyone with information or needing help can call or text 116 000 or email 116000@missingpeople.org.uk