Allan Grimson has always denied involvement in Bristol sailor’s disappearance in Gibraltar
Simon Parkes was last seen in December 1986
“Serial killer” Allan Grimson was a key figure for police as they investigated the disappearance of another Royal Navy sailor who went missing 40 years ago.
Simon Parkes, from Bristol, was last seen in December 1986 when the ship he was serving on, HMS Illustrious, was docked in Gibraltar.
His disappearance was part of investigations by Hampshire police into the past of Grimson, a former petty officer, after he was jailed for life in 2001 for the murders of navy rating Nicholas Wright and barman Sion Jenkins.
But the force announced in December 2025 that it had closed its investigation into the death after “tireless” inquiries had failed to uncover how Mr Parkes had disappeared.
Grimson had been also been serving on the aircraft carrier when it had docked at Gibraltar.
Mr Parkes, a radio operator, had gone ashore on December 12 1986 – the same date in December that Grimson killed Mr Wright and Mr Jenkins in separate years more than a decade later.
The sailor did not return to the ship and no-one knew what had happened to him when it arrived back in Portsmouth days later, despite a manhunt.
Announcing the end of the investigation in December, Detective Superintendent Adam Edwards said: “Officers have worked tirelessly to investigate the disappearance of Simon Parkes and to find answers for his devastated family.
“This information has been thoroughly explored and following a complex investigation which has included advice from the CPS, we are now drawing our enquiries to a close.
“The full circumstances surrounding Simon’s disappearance still remain unknown, however police will continue to support the ongoing coronial process.”
Specialist police teams were deployed to Gibraltar in 2019 after the force received new and credible intelligence.
Following further information, in January 2024, officers returned to the Town Range car park, where they had carried out previous investigations in August 2023.
Police have also previously carried out digs at a cemetery in the British Overseas Territory.
Grimson has always denied being involved in the disappearance of Mr Parkes.