Diane is devastated to lose Paul and in January 1990 (on her sixteenth birthday) she runs away from home without trace. Frank blames Paul for her disappearance and goes to Leeds to track him down, thinking that Diane is with him, but his search is fruitless. He is told that Paul has not been there recently and no one knows where he is. Frank becomes so desperate to find Paul that he hires a private detective, and is in the process of being conned by him when Paul coincidentally turns up in Walford. He reveals that he had spent some time in America, and knows nothing of Diane's whereabouts. He feels guilty about the way he'd treated Diane and has come back to put things right. After some heavy interrogation from Frank, Paul reveals that he spoke to Diane on the day she ran away. She had asked to come to Leeds to see him, but Paul had refused and promised to come to Walford when he had more time. Frank eventually accepts that Paul is telling the truth.