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2 months ago
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A British trainee barrister has disappeared while on holiday in Palma, the capital of the Spanish island of Majorca, after his family said they received an unsettling message from him one week ago.
Ben Ross, 26, from from Golborne near Wigan, has not been seen since he vanished on July 10, having moved to the sun-soaked island in June.
The legal trainee had initially planned to visit a friend in Majorca and later decided to extend his stay over the summer after picking up a temporary job.
But he was left penniless, keyless and without a passport after his bag was stolen while he took a swim in the sea on July 6, according to his mother Felix Robinson.
She revealed to Manchester Evening News earlier this week that she was trying to organise a bank transfer to support her son when Ben sent her a 'peculiar email' on July 10, telling her that he was 'not in a good place'.
Hours later he disappeared and has not been heard from since, with Felix stressing that Ben has a history of mental health illness and was previously sectioned at a facility in Liverpool just last year.
Ben Ross, 26, from Wigan (pictured with mother Felix Robinson), has not been seen since he vanished on July 10, having moved to the sun-soaked island in June
The trainee barrister had initially planned to visit a friend in Palma, Majorca, and later decided to extend his stay over the summer after picking up a temporary job
Felix is now planning to fly to Majorca herself to aid in search efforts, describing the days since July 10 as 'torture'.
'Like any mother, no matter what age your children are, they are still your children. I just need to know my son is safe and well.
'The last few days have been torture. Please, if anyone has seen Ben, even if it's just for a second, let the authorities know. We need to find him,' she said.
Ben's whereabouts are currently unknown and Spanish police are conducting a search of Palma and the surrounding regions for the 26-year-old.
The Foreign Office are supporting his family and are 'in contact with local authorities'.
Felix said she has also been in contact with LBT Global, the overseas charity supporting Jay Slater's family.
Ben's disappearance comes as investigators in Tenerife confirmed they had found the body of 19-year-old Brit Slater, who disappeared exactly one month ago today.
The teenager, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, vanished following a night out on the Spanish island, prompting a huge search operation involving police, volunteers and family members which spanned almost a month.
On Monday morning, the Spanish Civil Guard tragically discovered a body with the apprentice bricklayer's possessions and clothing, near to where his phone last pinged.
The Canary Islands High Court of Justice later revealed: 'Fingerprinting confirms that the body belongs to Jay Slater and the death was due to multiple traumas compatible with a fall in the mountainous area.'
Amid questions over how a body was missed for 29 days, Jay's family say they can 'appreciate the remoteness' of the area and say he 'would most likely have been killed instantly'.
A family spokesman told MailOnline before the hearing: 'The whole family is absolutely broken. They are devastated. It's not the outcome they were hoping for.
'Initially they thought how could he be so close and yet be missed but now having seen the location they appreciate the remoteness of it and there is no criticism of the search.'
A body found in the hunt for Jay Slater has been confirmed as the missing teenager, a court spokesperson said
Pictured: Jay Slater with his mother Debbie Duncan
Jay vanished on the island of Tenerife on June 17, prompting a huge search effort which involved police, volunteers, family members and even TikTok sleuths.
The apprentice bricklayer was attending the three-day NRG music festival with friends before his disappearance.
Video from the early hours of June 17 shows Jay partying the night away at Papagayo nightclub in the tourist resort of Playa de las Americas in the south of the island.
At around 5am, Jay left the Veronicas strip and got into a Seat Leon hire car with convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim, 31, and Qassim's unnamed friend, who he had met earlier on the holiday.
They travelled to Qassim's £40-a-night Airbnb, Casa Abuela Tina, in the remote village of Masca - around an hour's drive away from Playa de las Americas.
While in the car Jay sent a Snapchat message to his friends boasting that he had just stolen a £12,000 Rolex watch from a reveller and was going to sell it for £10,000.
At Casa Abuela Tina, Jay posted a picture on Snapchat at 7.30am of him standing in the doorway of the property having a cigarette - with the location tagged as being in Rural de Teno park, near Masca.
Half an hour later, the teenager decided to try and make his way back to his accommodation and was spotted at a bus stop outside the Airbnb.
After missing a bus, he called his friend Lucy Law between 8.15am and 8.30am, telling her he was attempting to walk back to his accommodation - a journey that would take around 11 hours.
In the frantic last phone call, Jay said he had 'cut his leg' on a cactus and had 'no idea where he was'.
Lucy said her friend told her he was 'lost in the mountains, he wasn't aware of his surroundings, he desperately needed a drink and his phone was on 1 per cent'.
Jay's phone ran out of battery shortly after with his phone last pinging in the Rural de Teno park at 8.50am.
At around 9.04am, Jay was reported missing and his friends spent the day searching but to no avail.
It is believed he fell down a mountainside shortly after his disappearance, but his body was not recovered for 29 days.
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