The Incredible Story Of Puppet Master Sarah's Dad
People are calling for Peter to become an honorary member of MI5.
If you've been looking for a new show to binge-watch, The Puppet Master has just dropped on Netflix, and viewers are hooked.
The new true crime documentary tells the story of conman Robert Hendy-Freegard, who stole almost £1m from at least eight people over several years.
Freegard would tell his victims he was an undercover MI5 agent, Special Branch or part of Scotland Yard working against the IRA, in a bid to convince his victims to transfer huge chunks of their savings. You can watch the trailer below:
The documentary begins by telling the story of Sarah Smith, who became embroiled in one of Freegard's elaborate scams after her university boyfriend, John, met Freegard in a pub in Shropshire.
Along with her housemate, the three students became entangled in his lies after he convinced them he was an MI5 agent, investigating an IRA cell at their college.
Ultimately, Freegard tricked Sarah into 'going undercover' for 10 years. She travelled across Europe with the conman - believing she and her family were in danger from the IRA - and gave him all of her money, including her £200,000 inheritance.
Over the course of a decade, Sarah suffered unimaginable heartache, and became totally isolated from her family and friends who only knew that she had been missing for years. But one person who was determined never to give up in finding his daughter, was Sarah's dad, Peter Smith.
Viewers meet Peter in the Netflix doc, as he recalls how he first discovered Sarah was in trouble, and how, over many years, he fought to get his daughter back, taking the investigation into his own hands in an effort to track down Sarah.
Using bank statements to see where Sarah had been, Peter recalls how his wall was covered in maps, as he pinpointed every area Sarah had travelled to in an effort to understand the route they were taking and why.
He then rang every single hotel in each area to check if they had stayed there, explaining he was looking for his daughter who could have been using a different name.
Peter even employed a private investigator to try and find more information on Sarah, explaining it was incredibly difficult, because Sarah simply couldn't be found.
"You don't want to lose your daughter, [my worst fears were] never seeing Sarah again, her getting abandoned, starved, left to die... I wasn't going to let that happen.
"I needed more evidence to get the police to help me, I was trying to grab every loose end I could follow."
Out of the blue, Peter was sent a letter from John explaining what had happened and why they had gone on the run with Freegard.
From this, Peter was put in touch with DS Bob Brandon who described Peter as "like a dog with a bone".
After watching the three-part documentary, viewers can't stop praising Peter for his work in bringing Sarah home.
One wrote: "Watching The Puppet Master on Netflix. Sarah’s dad is amazing."
While another said: "Sarah’s Dad is the real James Bond here the puppet master #netflix."
And a third added: "Ok but can we make Sarah’s dad an honorary member of MI5? The guy deserves it. The Puppet Master on Netflix be wild."
Meanwhile a fourth wrote: "If you haven't seen this yet, you really have to, shocking!... Some people in this world are just pure evil. However Peter Smith the father of Sarah Smith is an absolute legend. Puppet Master on Netflix."
You can watch The Puppet Master on Netflix now.
Featured Image Credit: NetflixTopics: TV And Film, Netflix
Lucy Devine