A year ago today the body of Alex Holland was found in a water-filled ditch 81 days after he disappeared from his parents' home in Deal.

The 27-year-old dad was wearing just one shoe, with the other discovered next to his car a mile-and-a-half away, leaving his family believing he was murdered and dumped in the remote spot...

At 9pm on Sunday, November 28, 2021, Alex Holland told his mum he was going outside for a cigarette before taking a shower and going to bed.

A father of two young girls, he was living with his parents in Delane Road, Deal, after separating from his wife of five years.

He was due to work the next day, as a delivery driver for Plumbs upholsterers in Dover, and had a dentist appointment booked.

But he didn't return home that night, or the following day.

His concerned mum, Rachel Holland, reported him missing just before 7.30pm - almost 24 hours after he had last been seen.

That same day the courtesy car he was using while his own was being repaired was found in Jubilee Road, Worth.

A search was made within a 500-metre radius of the vehicle with the help of a police helicopter, which arrived just before dawn on November 30.

It was also used to scan over Sandwich Bay and the English Channel.

The hunt was aided by the Kent Search and Rescue charity, with drones and sniffer dogs also used in the hope of finding Alex alive.

But the search ended in tragedy on February 17, 2022 - 81 days after Alex had disappeared - when his body was discovered in a ditch near a pumping station at Pinnock Wall in Hacklinge.

A coroner's investigation could not establish what exactly had happened in those intervening months.

A post-mortem examination officially classed Alex's death as unascertained and an inquest last June could only come up with an open conclusion.

There were no obvious signs of violence on his body, nor any evidence he had taken his own life.

Small amounts of cocaine and alcohol were found in his system, but not at levels that would make them a contributory factor.

The inquest heard there was no indication of third-party involvement in Alex's death, which police said was not suspicious. There was also no evidence to reach a conclusion of death by suicide.

A GP report to the inquest said that while Alex had an anxiety and depression disorder, he had never expressed any suicidal thoughts.

Joanne Andrews, the area coroner for North East Kent, said she did not know how Alex ended up in the ditch.

Yet his family, including his father, Mark, and sisters, Louise Coleman and Victoria Holland-Bastable, have several questions unanswered.

On the anniversary of the tragic discovery, they have told of the anguish that endures.

His mother said: "It has been sheer hell for us, knowing that Alex is no longer here but not really knowing what happened to him.

"I hate getting up in the morning now but I have to. It's not right - you are never supposed to outlive your children. He would only be 29 this year.

"Now we just want justice for Alex."

When Alex's body was found he was wearing only one open-toed slider shoe and no coat, with the other shoe discovered a mile-and-a-half away in Worth, just 10ft from a hire car he was using.

His family say if he had walked that distance, why would he do it with one shoe?

How could he even do it, especially over ground with grit, stones, brambles and weeds?

Three family members also tried walking the same route with one slider, found it painful and realised it was ultimately impossible without knowing the route in great detail in darkness.

They went in the daytime and all ended up with marks on their bare feet. Yet an examination of Alex's body showed he had no such marks.

"We feel we have been let down, not listened to..."

Why was his mobile phone, bought only two days before his disappearance, left in his car?

What happened to his wallet, which contained his driving licence and hundreds of pounds in cash. He had it when he left the house but it was not found with his body, nor in his car.

The family also question how Alex would have managed to avoid falling into a number of other waterways between Worth and Pinnock Wall, Hacklinge, had he been walking the treacherous route in the dark.

Last April they made a formal written complaint to Kent Police over its handling of the investigation.

Their letter, seen by KentOnline, said: "We feel we have been let down, not listened to, not taken seriously and Alex has been let down also.

"We believed as a family that this is murder.

"We have many unanswered questions, some we are unlikely to ever find out, but we feel if more was done maybe we could have.

"Our faith in Kent Police has been crushed. We are Alex's voice now and we will fight as long as necessary to find out what happened to him."

Kent Police's professional standards department gave the family a full response to the complaint and accepted 10 of the 20 criticisms.

The family says it is appealing against the force's formal response, which is made public today for the first time.

Overall, Kent Police concluded there was no case to answer for misconduct. It accepted there had been some failings in communication, but lessons were being learned. One officer classed as performing unsatisfactorily by the investigators has since retired.

One criticism against Kent Police was that it had circulated incorrect details of Alex's description in public appeals following his disappearance.

This happened first in the original appeal and again in a renewed one in January 2022, despite the family contacting the force to correct the error.

They say Alex had last been seen wearing dark tan chino trousers, which he was still wearing when found dead.

But police had said he was "believed to be" wearing grey jogging bottoms.

The force accepted that the correct information should have been given in updated appeals and it was not known why that did not happen. But it did not believe that would have changed the outcome, as no witness response to media appeals was based purely on Alex's clothing.

A second complaint was that the search should have been wider due to the number of marshes and ditches in the area.

The letter says the whole area should have been covered and the family had repeatedly asked for this.

It goes on: "If these areas had been searched Alex would have been found a lot sooner and maybe we could have had many of our questions answered."

The family had even sourced help from a medium, who on January 3 told police of four waterways to search, but only three were scoured.

Mary Johnson had a vision of Alex face down in the water.

The letter says: "If Kent Police had searched this fourth area Alex would have been found a lot sooner."

Kent Police conceded it was not known why areas suggested by the family may not have been searched, but stressed the hunt did go beyond the requirements of national guidelines.

The family also complained of a lack of CCTV searching and viewing.

It is claimed that after Alex's body was found police did not go to two major businesses in Hacklinge - the Coach and Horses pub and Lilyroos glamping site - to see if they had footage. After prompting from the family, officers did go to Lilyroos.

The Hollands eventually went to several local businesses and homes to see if they had CCTV that might have filmed Alex's last movements, but those visited said they no longer had film from that time.

The family writes: "If this had been requested by Kent Police in the first couple of weeks of Alex's disappearance maybe a better picture could have been built of his last-known movements and any potential third party."

The complaint investigators disagreed, saying the CCTV searches were proportionate.

Alex's wallet remained missing after he was found dead and an officer admitted that it had not been searched for in the water, the family letter says.

Alex's father and a friend went waist-deep into the water themselves, with snorkels and nets, but were not able to find it.

"Alex is our son and we want to know what happened to him..."

The complaint investigators rejected criticism here, saying the wallet was unlikely to give new evidence, and resources had to be used proportionately.

The family believe Alex was killed and then dragged into the water, and have suggested who police could speak to to follow up this line of enquiry.

The fact his shoes were found so far apart makes them believe someone had taken him from his car against his will to another and driven him away. The family say this side of the investigation should have been looked into more by Kent Police.

The force has told the Hollands there was insufficient evidence to prove third-party involvement and that the investigation had considered all relevant lines of enquiry.

Kent Police declined to comment this week on the family's complaints, but Mrs Holland says they will not stop fighting for answers.

"Alex is our son and we want to know what happened to him," she said.

"We are determined to find out, and we are never going to rest until we do."