By NOEL MURPHY
HOWARD Jones, the 72-year-old man who went missing three years ago after living rough in a Herne Hill bus shelter, has gone missing again – and been found again.
Mr Jones, who had been living at Grovedale, was reported missing by police on Monday but later spotted by a member of the public at Queenscliff.
“Missing Grovedale man Howard Jones has been located safe and well,” police posted to Twitter this morning. “Thanks for sharing and helping us find him.”
The heavily Welsh-accented man first disappeared three years ago after living in a Minerva Rd bus shelter for a month. He left behind a blue Geelong Football club bag with a doona and other personal effects.
Mr Jones’ affable, polite nature had endeared him to nearby shopkeepers and his sudden disappearance left them, and his family in Wales, who had lost contact with him in 2010, anxious.
Police took Mr Jones to a welfare agency who were reluctant to comment on his status.
Mr Jones’ family, in Pembrokeshire, Wales, believed he left his rented home after a number of unspecified violent incidents. They experienced problems lodging a missing persons report from overseas.
A neighbour working with Mr Jones’ family told the Independent at the time that he may have been forcibly evicted from his home of 20 years before it went to market as vacant possession. Reports suggests bricks may have been thrown at the house.
When he was located, Mr Jones and his family were understood to be upset about previous descriptions of him as a “vagrant’’.
Howard Graville Jones was born in the tiny harbour village of Lower Fishguard in west Wales in 1942. He was one of six children.
Family friends told the independent that in 1972, at the age of 30, Mr Jones said goodbye to his family and set off for New Zealand. He explored the islands, doing a variety of work to pay his way. Eventually, he found a rewarding job with the Salvation Army where he met his future wife, Julie, who shared his love for travel.
Together, they set off for Australia where they experienced life in a number of towns, briefly living in Tasmania before deciding to make their home in Victoria. Both had the misfortune to experience a rough Bass Strait crossing. They survived the journey, but had many belongings lost at sea.
Mr Jones and his wife later parted ways, but he loved the pace of life in Victoria and decided to settle in Geelong. He spent the next 20 years in Corio, eventually retiring there.
Mr Jones’ family in Wales had enjoyed regular contact with him over the last 40 years but lost touch with him in 2010.
