As the IslandEcho team take a well-earned break over the Christmas period, we have lined up a special 12 days of Christmas round-up of the top stories from January to December, recapping the year gone by.
Check back each day for a new story to jog your memory as we lead up to the big day.
Back in June…
The month started with a large-scale search and rescue operation to locate a pensioner who went missing from Totland.
Police asked residents to keep an eye out and to check places where somebody could hide as concerns grew for then-missing 70-year-old Tony Gillet, who suffered from Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s.
The search, which involved WightSAR, the Needles Coastguard and Police was called off after Mr Gillet was found safe and well by a member of the public.
Meanwhile, passers-by were shocked when the body of a deceased man was found on a park bench in Newport.
A cordon was put in place at Church Litten park while investigations were carried out to rule out any suspicious activity. It was later confirmed that the man died of natural causes.
