THE family of missing Newbridge man Kyle Vaughan have said the search for him is more urgent than ever as his mum, Mary, has been diagnosed with liver cancer – just two years after battling throat cancer.

On Thursday, Kyle’s mum Mary discovered she had liver cancer – just two years after battling throat cancer – while husband Alan was hospitalised over the weekend suffering from angina, which it is believe was brought on by the stress of their son’s disappearance.

Now the couple say it’s more important than ever that Kyle is found, in order to end their suffering.

Kyle Vaughan, 24, went missing on December 30 last year when his silver Peugeot 306 was found on the A467 between Risca and Crosskeys after a suspected collision. Specialist search officers combed the area around Newbridge at the time using search dogs, but failed to find the former Cwmcarn High School pupil.

This led to a murder inquiry being launched less than two weeks after his disappearance.

Mr Vaughan believes the strain of not knowing what happened or where their son is over the past year has contributed to the couple becoming ill.

“It’s making us sick,” he said. “Finding out Mary has cancer, combined with still not knowing where Kyle is means our stress levels have been through the roof. The doctor has told me to try not to stress so much, but this is our lives, every day. We don’t have any rest from it, it’s 24/7.

“We just need to find Kyle. We have sat here and waited for news for almost a year. We remain positive he will be found, but we don’t know when.

“With Mary’s cancer it’s even more important to us that we find him as soon as possible.

He said: “We are very sad and depressed, because of course we will not be celebrating Christmas this year.

“As Kyle has still not been found, there’s no presents to buy.

“At the end of the day, all we want is our son’s body home, so we can hold a funeral. We just want to know the truth and what happened to him that night.”

“All we have left is memories,” he added.

Cousin Beckie Imm said: “There seems to be a lot of rumours and Chinese whispers out there, but people need to know they can talk to the police or Crimestoppers completely anonymously.

“They could hold that missing information that could lead us to Kyle without knowing it.”

The family announced last month they are to hold an event at Rodney Parade in Newport to mark the one-year anniversary of his disappearance, and hope it will raise awareness and lead to new information.

Ms Imm added: “We would like to appeal to the people of Newport to come along, even if they don’t know the family or Kyle, and show their support.

“It’s a nice way to bring us all together and means no one has to be by themselves on this sad day.”

Money raised will go to the Severn Area Search and Rescue Association, who helped look for Kyle following his disappearance.

Mr Vaughan said: “Myself and Mary will be indebted to SARA for the rest of our lives.”

The family have raised around £1,000 for SARA to date.

They are still looking for prizes to be donated to the raffle. If you or your business can help, contact them through the Help us with information – MISSING – Kyle Vaughan Facebook page.

Kyle’s family are also reminding people a £5,000 reward has been offered for information about his disappearance. Anyone with information which leads to an arrest and conviction could claim the reward