Family's heartache over missing man

A WORRIED sister of a top Suffolk sportsman who went missing in France close to three months ago has spoken to The Evening Star of the pain of not knowing what has happened to him.

Christopher Lipscombe, a 59-year-old former county champion at tennis and squash, disappeared from his home in a mountainous village near the town of Carcassonne, in the south of France, on December 11.

Mr Lipscombe's sister Judy Hamshere said there was still no news of his whereabouts.

Police are continuing their search but Mr Lipscombe's family has been left “in limbo” by his unexplained disappearance.

Mrs Hamshere said: “You don't know whether you're supposed to be mourning or what you're supposed to be doing.

“I can be reading a book and all of a sudden it goes through your mind for no apparent reason.

“It is very weird and something you don't want to happen.

“People have been very good to the family - phoning and seeing what they can do but it's quite hard for them because nobody knows what to say to you.”

The family has put up posters in the villages near Mr Lipscombe's French home and his son Stuart is planning to visit the area this month to speak to police and get an update on the situation.

Fears were triggered about Mr Lipscombe's whereabouts when he did not arrive to take a friend to Carcassonne airport.

Police immediately arranged search parties to scour the mountainous area around his home and divers searched the nearby lake but found nothing.

Mr Lipscombe, who has been living alone in France since retiring two years ago, has two grown-up children with his ex-wife.

Born in Felixstowe, he has spent much of his life in Ipswich and worked for a period as a policeman in Lowestoft.

He is former a county squash and tennis champion, a top golfer and was ranked the number one table tennis player in Suffolk at under-18 level.

Anyone who thinks they may have information about Mr Lipscombe's whereabouts is asked to contact Suffolk police on 01473 613500.