A MOTHER from Oxford who has searched for her dead son for more than 15 years says she will not give up until she has done everything she can.

Jonathan Dolton, who was raised in North Hinksey, was just 21 when he vanished from his home in Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes, in February 2002.

An associate of his, Stuart Martin, was convicted of his manslaughter in December 2004 - but took any information he had regarding the whereabouts of Mr Dolton’s body to the grave in 2010.

Mr Dolton’s parents, Sheila and Alan, have, in the 16 years since his disappearance, never given up hope.

Now a grandmother, Mrs Dolton, of Stanley Close, North Hinksey, has doggedly led a personal investigation and search, speaking to those connected to the case and trawling green spaces in Milton Keynes.

The 65-year-old believes there may be people still living in Milton Keynes who might have information on the whereabouts of her son's body so will not move too far away from the area.

Speaking about her search, she told the Oxford Mail: “I should give up for my own mental health. I’ve got two grandchildren to spend time with – but I feel like I owe it to my daughter. I don’t want her to inherit it.

“I said when I hit my sixty-fifth birthday I would give up then but I’m 65 now. And I will turn 66 next month.

“I know that when I’ve searched all the green spaces in Milton Keynes, when I’ve done them, I shall say that when I die I can look Jonathan in the eye and say ‘I’ve done my best. I’ve done what I could do.’

"I can’t do the rest of the country but I can do the Milton Keynes area and I will. Just to let [Mr Dolton's sister] Nina know that when I go: ‘mum’s done this and she’s done the best she could’."

When he was 17, Mr Dolton, a former Matthew Arnold School pupil, met Martin, who was in his late 30s, and brought him to his family home to meet his parents.

Not long after that first meeting Mr Dolton left home and moved in with Martin.

Martin, Mr Dolton and others, were involved in establishing a business called Extreme PCs where Mr Dolton worked as chief engineer.

Mr Dolton’s dad visited him on Sunday, February 24, 2002, and the pair spent the day at a science museum in London.

His dad dropped him off at his rented home in the early evening, stopping for a cup of tea. During the visit, Martin is said to have joined them briefly.

Both men left and, after around 11.30pm, Mr Dolton was never seen again.

Within 24 hours of Mr Dolton's disappearance, Martin fled the country and caught a ferry to France.

From Paris he flew to Australia, where he spent nearly two years before being extradited to the UK.

In December 2004, Martin was convicted of his manslaughter at Reading Crown Court, but cleared of murder.

Martin, who was given a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence, died from a heart attack at a Portsmouth hospital in June 2010, after being released from jail on licence.

Despite pleading letters from Mr Dolton's family, Martin never revealed anything about the location of the young man's body.

Almost 16 years on from his disappearance, Mrs Dolton continues to search on a monthly basis.

She said: “In Milton Keynes there are lots of places a body can be. I’ve been through quite a lot of places and there are still pockets of woodlands here and pockets of woodland there.

"I wanted to move down to the coast in my old age. That had been my plan. And it’s been on hold because that would be even further away from Milton Keynes."

She has urged anybody with information about Martin to contact her on 01865 727012 or 07428 000572.