THE family of a Hampshire graduate have made an emotional appeal for information to help find him, 15 years after he disappeared while trekking in India.

Lee Buckle had just completed a three-year geology degree at the University of Southampton when he went backpacking in the Kashmir region of the country.

The experienced hiker, who was 22 at the time, had intended to travel to Nepal to meet up with university friends, but failed to return from an “arduous” ten-day trek and has not been seen since.

His parents, John and June Buckle have now spoken of their nightmare at being left with no idea of the fate of the eldest of their three sons.

The authorities failed to act when Lee was first reported missing in July 1994, by two girls he had agreed to meet after his trek, and again when Mr and Mrs Buckle realised something was wrong – when he failed to fly home for a cousin’s wedding that October.

It wasn’t until the following spring that a search of the area was first carried out, which found no trace of Lee or any of his possessions.

“We have gone through hell trying to find out what has happened to him,” said Mr Buckle, 62, from Garswood, Merseyside.

“We just need closure because the difficult thing for us is that there’s just no end to it.

“We hadn’t had any reason to worry as he had been writing to us. The last contact we had from him was in the July.

He told us that he couldn’t get in contact for a while as he was going to be doing a trek.

“The last thing I said to him was don’t go anywhere difficult on your own, but sadly that’s what he did.

“We know that the likelihood is he isn’t alive. He went missing at a time when a lot of people were being kidnapped in the region. But a body has never been found so we live in hope.

“We would love to find anything out about Lee, whatever that might be.

“We try to carry on but when the four of us get together it is obvious someone is missing. It is especially hard at this time of year.

Whether it is good or bad we just want some news.”

■ Anyone with information should call the National Missing Persons Helpline on 0500 700 700.