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An estimated 250,000 people go missing in Britain every year.听 Troubled relationships, anxieties about money or health, pressure of work - a host of issues can prompt a person to try to get away from it all, quite literally. Sometimes there鈥檚 no apparent reason, but for most, it鈥檚 a very brief disappearance - nine out of ten are found within 48 hours.

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A significant number, however, remain missing for years, leaving their families distraught in that wilderness of not knowing.

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In this edition of All Things Considered, Roy Jenkins meets three people of faith who reflect on what it is like to lose a loved one in this way, and what keeps them going in their search.

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For the family of Ross Evans, medical student from Aberdare, the quest has continued for almost half a century.听 Over the years, his cousin Mansel Jones has built up an archive of newspaper cuttings, documents and family photographs.

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It has been nearly twenty years since the disappearance of Richard Edwards, guitarist with one of the most successful of all Welsh rock groups, the Manic Street Preachers, His sister Rachel Elias, talks about her personal loss and what has kept her going over the years.

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In March 2012, another musician Owain Roberts, failed to return to his home in Cardigan.听 He has not been seen since. Owain鈥檚 father, Baptist minister Irfon Roberts, talks movingly to Roy Jenkins about his family鈥檚 sense of loss and the Christian faith which has helped sustain him.

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Pictured left to right: Ross Evans, Richard Edwards, Owain Roberts