Taxi Driver Online

3 Mar 2008

Kent search for missing cabbie Noddy



THE search for Hampshire taxi driver John Martin, better known as Noddy,
has switched to another part of the south.

His wife Corin is planning to visit Kent tomorrow in a bid to find the
50-year-old cabbie, who has now been missing for more than two weeks.

Mr Martin, of Elgin Close, Hythe, grew up in Kent and still thinks of it as
home His wife has drawn up a list of his five favourite places in the county,
including the 450-acre Mote Park in Maidstone.

Other communities on the list include Charing, Sandwich and Deal.

Mrs Martin is planning to tour Kent with one of her best friends, Nicky
Tichborne, who has rarely left her side since her husband went missing.

The two women will put up posters and are hoping the local media will
publicise their search.

Mrs Martin said: "Noddy and I visited Kent a few years ago and went to all
his favourite places in the county, which he still thinks of as home.

"They're not too far apart and shouldn't be too hard to cover."

Mr Martin left his car and wallet at home but might have hitched a lift to
Kent, lured there by happy childhood memories.

His wife added: "We feel there's a strong possibility that he might be in the
county. He's got to be somewhere."

Mr Martin, a director of Streamline Taxis in Southampton, went missing on
February 15 after returning home from work in a bad mood.

He walked out of the house after removing his wedding ring, which his wife
now wears on a chain around her neck.

Source: Daily Echo
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April 10, 2008 Thursday

Search that has ended in tragedy

Daily Echo

FOR eight weeks she had clung to the hope that her missing husband was still alive.

Corin Martin never stopped believing that the man she described as "the love of my life" would be found safe and well.

But fears for the safety of Southampton taxi driver John Martin, better known as Noddy, increased with each passing day.

In a series of interviews with the Daily Echo, Mrs Martin often lowered her voice and admitted that her husband might be lying dead in the New Forest.

She was proved tragically correct when his body was found in dense undergrowth between Beaulieu and Exbury on Tuesday.

Mrs Martin, 44, received the devastating news just hours after speaking to the Echo at the couple's home in Elgin Close, Hythe.

In a moving interview she described the couple's great love for each other, saying they often held hands even while watching television.

She also revealed plans to become a taxi driver herself in a bid to make ends meet following her husband's disappearance.

Mrs Martin said: "My life has been torn apart but I've got three children and have to find a way of keeping it all together.

"Becoming a taxi driver makes perfect sense because John's cab is sitting outside.

"If I don't start driving the car myself I'll only have to sell it, which is not something I want to do.

"I've already taken the vehicle out a couple of times and actually found it quite comforting. Much better to drive it myself than see someone take it away."

Tragically unaware of the news she was about to receive, Mrs Martin said someone might be harbouring her husband.

She said: "He may think he's ruined everything and can't come home, but I want him to know that it's safe to return and that I want him back."

Mr Martin, 50, had three grown-up daughters from his first marriage - Sam, Vicki, and Lisa, who is due to get married later this year. Mrs Martin has two children from a previous marriage - Ellie, 14 and Daniel, 16.

Together they had a daughter, Lydia, nine, who designed a poster with the words "My Daddy Is Missing - Please Find Him" shortly after he disappeared.

Mr Martin, a director of Streamline Taxis in Southampton, vanished on February 15 after coming home from work in a bad mood.

His wife told him to stop moaning and went to visit a friend. She returned 90 minutes later to discover that he had left the house, having first removed his wedding ring.

Yesterday Mrs Martin released a statement in which she paid tribute to her husband of 11 years.

She said: "John was a warm, loving and caring family man, a wonderful husband and father who was much loved by me and his children.

"I would like to express my thanks and gratitude to everyone who supported me and my family through the ordeal following John's disappearance, particularly the police, the media and his friends and family, who did all they could to help us trace John.
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