MYSTERY DEEPENS AFTER DAD, 45, IS FOUND ON SCHOOL FIELD — FAMILY MAKES DESPERATE PLEA TO FIND PERSON WHO PULLED HIS E-BIKE FROM CANAL

A grieving family is still searching for answers months after a father was found fatally injured on a school playing field — and now they are making a heartbreaking appeal to a stranger who may hold one small but important piece of the mystery.

Neil Thompson, known affectionately as “Chuck,” was 45 when his body was discovered at Smestow Academy in Wolverhampton on the morning of January 19.

He had been out on his electric bike the night before.

What happened during the hours that followed remains unclear.

And today, on what would have been Neil’s 46th birthday, his loved ones are asking one person to come forward.

That person is believed to be the stranger who pulled Neil’s muddy, rusty e-bike from a nearby canal.

The family does not want the stranger blamed.

They simply want to know where the bike was found — so they can finally have a place to visit, leave flowers and remember Neil.

THE NIGHT NEIL LEFT HOME

According to evidence heard at an inquest, Neil left his home at approximately 8:17 p.m. on January 18 on his electric bike.

He was heading to visit a friend.

Around 1 a.m. the following morning, Neil left his friend’s home and began making his way back.

CCTV later captured him traveling along the Smestow Canal towpath at approximately 1:26 a.m.

That footage became one of the final confirmed pieces of information about his movements.

Then the trail became increasingly difficult to follow.

Investigators could not establish exactly what happened to Neil after he was seen on the canal towpath.

A MYSTERIOUS MORNING DISCOVERY

Around 7:15 a.m., a member of the public walking a dog through Smestow Valley Nature Reserve photographed Neil in the grounds of Smestow Academy.

Investigators believe he was still alive at that point.

But somehow, he had made his way from the canal area to the school’s playing field.

There was a major unanswered question:

How did he get there?

The inquest heard that Neil would have had to negotiate or scale a fence to enter the school grounds.

Investigators were unable to determine when or how that happened.

Later that morning, an 11-year-old girl made the heartbreaking discovery while preparing for a PE lesson.

The child was reportedly left deeply shaken by what she had encountered.

Her father previously described how she called her mother in distress after finding Neil near the goalposts.

It was a moment that would stay with the young girl and her family.

THE E-BIKE ADDS ANOTHER PIECE TO THE PUZZLE

Neil’s electric bike was eventually found near the canal.

But there was something unusual about its condition and location.

The bike appeared muddy and rusty, and investigators believe someone had pulled it from the water and left it near a bridge at a lock.

Who that person was remains unknown.

Police believe the individual may have discovered the bike without realizing how important it could later become to Neil’s family.

That is why his loved ones are now appealing directly to that person.

Detective Sergeant Amie Petford of West Midlands Police said the family wants to know the exact location where the bike was recovered so they can have somewhere meaningful to grieve.

The family believes knowing that location could give them a small sense of closure.

WHAT HAPPENED TO NEIL?

That question remains unanswered.

The coroner concluded that Neil died from head and facial injuries of an unknown cause.

Police initially launched a homicide investigation following his death.

But after an extensive investigation and the inquest, West Midlands Police said there is no further criminal investigation into the circumstances.

Investigators found no evidence that Neil had been robbed.

They also found no confirmed damage or blood evidence along the canal towpath that could establish exactly where or how he sustained his injuries.

There was no CCTV footage showing the moment he was injured.

And investigators could not establish how he traveled from the canal towpath to the school playing field.

Those unanswered questions have left Neil’s loved ones with a painful mystery.

“THEY JUST WANT TO KNOW WHERE”

For the family, the stranger who pulled the bicycle from the canal may unknowingly possess one of the final missing pieces.

Police are not asking the person to explain what happened to Neil.

They want the person to tell them where the bike was found.

That information could allow Neil’s family to identify a place where they can leave flowers and remember the man they loved.

West Midlands Police said they appreciate the efforts of the person who removed the bike from the water because it ultimately helped investigators locate it.

Now, Neil’s family simply wants that person to get in touch.

REMEMBERING “CHUCK”

Before the mystery surrounding his final hours, Neil was known to those close to him simply as Chuck.

His family described him as a son, brother, father and friend who was deeply loved in the fishing community.

Fishing was his great passion.

His loved ones said his love of life and his funny stories had touched many people.

Now, instead of celebrating his 46th birthday with him, they are left remembering the man he was while still trying to understand what happened during his final hours.

For them, even one small answer could matter.

A location.

A bridge.

A stretch of canal.

A place where Neil’s family could stand, leave flowers and feel close to him.

Anyone who pulled Neil’s e-bike from the canal is being urged to contact West Midlands Police, quoting crime reference 1452 of January 19.

For Neil’s family, the appeal is not about reopening old wounds.

It is about finding one final place to say goodbye.

They know they may never learn exactly what happened to Neil. But they are still hoping one stranger can tell them where his final journey began to come to an end.