Alexander Key, the 37-year-old chef and longtime partner of Assisi Jackson—granddaughter of Rolling Stones icon Sir Mick Jagger—vanished under mysterious circumstances in the rugged coastal village of Boscastle, Cornwall. His disappearance has plunged a high-profile family into anguish, ignited a massive search operation, and left an entire community holding its breath against the relentless roar of the Atlantic.

The story begins on a damp, overcast Friday afternoon, January 24, 2026. Alexander Key, known to locals simply as Alex, walked into the Napier Arms, a centuries-old pub perched above Boscastle harbour. Regulars remember him clearly: wool jumper slightly damp from the drizzle, easy smile, ordering his usual pint of Doom Bar ale. He chatted amiably about the winter specials at Tide & Stone, the seafood restaurant he co-owns with Assisi. Around 5 p.m. he stepped back into the fading light, raised a hand in farewell, and disappeared down the narrow lane toward the cliffs. No one has seen him since.

By evening, alarm bells were ringing. Alex was expected to collect his two young children—Ezra, 8, and Lyra, 6—from a friend’s house and then head straight to the restaurant for the dinner service. When he failed to appear, Assisi first assumed a delayed errand. As minutes stretched into hours, worry turned to dread. At midnight she contacted police. By Saturday morning the official search was underway, and the quiet North Cornwall coast suddenly swarmed with activity.

Devon and Cornwall Police classified the case as high-risk from the outset. The area’s geography offers little mercy to the missing. Steep, unstable cliffs drop straight into churning water. The South West Coast Path, which winds past Boscastle, features narrow sections with sheer 200-foot drops, frequently slick with mud, algae or sea spray. Fog can descend in minutes, visibility reduced to arm’s length. Tides race in at frightening speed, cutting off escape routes. Search coordinators knew the window for a happy outcome was narrowing fast.

Resources poured in quickly. Coastguard helicopters lifted off from Newquay, sweeping thermal cameras across the headlands. RNLI lifeboats from Port Isaac and Padstow patrolled the shoreline, while specialist cliff and cave rescue teams abseiled down precarious faces. Police dogs, drones equipped with infrared, and underwater sonar teams joined the effort. On land, more than 150 volunteers—fishermen, hikers, restaurant staff, even neighbouring farmers—fanned out across fields, coves and footpaths. Posters bearing Alex’s photograph were taped to every lamppost and shop window within ten miles.

The Jagger connection turned local concern into international headlines almost overnight. Assisi Jackson, 33, has long maintained a relatively low profile despite her famous bloodline. Daughter of Jade Jagger and Peruvian-born artist Piers Jackson (formerly married), Assisi grew up surrounded by creativity and chaos. She modelled briefly, launched small jewellery and fashion lines, and pursued painting and photography. Yet she has always seemed most at home away from flashbulbs—especially since meeting Alex more than a decade ago.

Their romance unfolded quietly at first. Alex, originally from Greater Manchester, had moved south to chase his culinary ambitions. After stints in acclaimed London kitchens he relocated to Cornwall in 2015, drawn by the abundance of world-class seafood and the slower pace of life. He and Assisi connected through mutual friends in the food-and-art scene. By 2018 they were parents to Ezra; Lyra followed two years later. In 2022 they took their biggest leap yet: purchasing and refurbishing a harbourside building to create Tide & Stone.

The restaurant became an instant success. Reviewers praised the unfussy elegance of the cooking—line-caught pollock with samphire and brown shrimp butter, hand-dived scallops with black pudding crumb, crab ravioli in bisque reduced for hours. Alex’s kitchen philosophy was straightforward: respect the catch, keep flavours clean, waste nothing. Assisi handled design, service and marketing, infusing the space with warm lighting, driftwood accents and local artwork. Locals adopted the place quickly; tourists followed. Within two years Tide & Stone had a loyal following and a reputation that stretched to London food circles.

That success made Alex’s disappearance even more jarring. He was not the type to walk away from responsibility. Friends describe a man who arrived early, stayed late, and treated every supplier, server and dishwasher with genuine respect. “If Alex said he’d be somewhere, he was there,” one chef colleague told reporters. “Something serious has happened. He wouldn’t vanish voluntarily.”

Speculation filled the vacuum left by a lack of solid leads. The most prevalent theory centres on accident. Friday’s weather had been typical winter Cornish: persistent rain, gusts up to 40 mph, poor visibility after 4 p.m. Many believe Alex may have decided to take a shortcut along the coast path toward home—a route he knew well but which becomes treacherous in low light. A single misstep on wet rock could send someone tumbling hundreds of feet. Others point to rogue waves; even experienced locals have been swept off ledges during high water.

A darker set of rumours circulated online. Some mentioned recent tensions at the restaurant—alleged disputes with a seafood wholesaler over pricing and quality. Anonymous posts claimed Alex had received threatening messages in the weeks prior. Police have repeatedly stated there is no evidence of criminal involvement, yet the rumours persist, amplified by the Jagger name.

The family’s response has been raw and public. Jade Jagger flew to Cornwall within hours of the alert, posting a heartfelt plea on Instagram: “My beautiful daughter and grandchildren need your help. Alex is the heart of our home. If you saw anything, please come forward.” Sir Mick Jagger, cutting short a break between tour dates, arrived Saturday evening. Paparazzi captured rare images of the 82-year-old rock legend looking visibly shaken, arm around Assisi as they walked near the harbour. Other Jagger siblings—Elizabeth, Georgia May, Gabriel—shared messages of support, turning the search into a collective cry across social platforms.

For the children the impact is heartbreaking. Ezra keeps asking when Daddy will come back to take him fishing; Lyra clutches a soft toy crab Alex bought her last summer. Assisi has barely left the family home except to join search parties. Close friends say she walks the cliffs each dawn, calling his name into the wind as if sheer will might summon him.

On Sunday morning a potential breakthrough emerged. Searchers recovered a man’s dark jacket snagged on rocks below Pentireglaze, roughly two miles southwest of Boscastle. The garment matched one Alex was known to wear. Forensic examination is underway, though rough seas delayed recovery of additional items spotted nearby. Divers continue to probe submerged caves and gullies, while coastguard teams monitor drift patterns in case anything further washes ashore.

Cornwall has rallied in ways both moving and practical. Pubs have collected donations for the family; the local surf school suspended lessons so instructors could join ground teams. Churches in Boscastle, Tintagel and Camelford held candlelit vigils. Even rival restaurant owners sent staff to help cover shifts at Tide & Stone so the business could remain open in Alex’s honour. “He fed us when times were hard,” said one neighbouring pub landlord. “Now we feed his family’s hope.”

The landscape itself seems to hold its breath. Boscastle’s valley funnels wind and water in dramatic fashion; the 2004 flood that tore through the village remains vivid in collective memory. That disaster killed no one thanks to extraordinary rescue efforts—a fact locals cling to now. History, they insist, can repeat itself in kindness as well as tragedy.

Three days on, optimism flickers but refuses to die. Every new tide brings fresh teams to previously searched areas. Every helicopter pass scans another unseen gully. The question that haunts everyone—family, friends, strangers alike—is simple yet unanswerable: Where is Alex Key?

For now the harbour lights burn late. Posters flutter in the breeze. And on the edge of England’s wildest coast, a family, a village and a legion of well-wishers wait for the moment the cliffs finally give him back.