Mother of missing man, 26, in Majorca criticises Greater Manchester Police handling of case

The mother of a trainee barrister who went missing on a Spanish island has criticised British police for their handling of the case.

Ben Ross, from Wigan, disappeared in the tourist hotspot Palma City in Majorca on Wednesday 10 July.

He travelled to the island to take a break from studying to become a barrister in Manchester.

Home Office protocol states that if someone goes missing while abroad, you should phone your local police force who subsequently contact the police force in the relevant country through Interpol - the International Criminal Police organisation.

However, when Ben's mum Felix Robinson arrived in Majorca on Saturday 20 July, she was told by Interpol that Greater Manchester Police (GMP) had not reported Ben's disappearance, despite her giving multiple statements to officers.

Ms Robinson believes this has left the search for the missing 26-year-old, who has been missing for more than a week, severely delayed, Spanish police unaware and the British Consulate powerless.

A family spokesperson said: "Felix has spent days trying to get local authorities to take her reports of a missing person seriously.

"In the UK, the policies around reporting missing people in a different country, require local police to inform Interpol who will then activate police in the country of the missing person.

"Initially, local police did not take her report seriously. Believing that it was a case of a 26-year-old young man living his best life out in Spain.

"They closed the case down twice and even closed a complaint in which Ben’s mum begged a Sergeant to take the case seriously, knowing what a vulnerable state he is in due to having all his possessions stolen and nowhere to stay."

ITV Granada Reports understands that GMP did contact Interpol following the reports Ben was missing and continues to provide assistance where it can.

Ben decided to extend his stay in Majorca and move into a temporary rental after finding a local job, his mum said.

However, her son had his phone, passport, keys and wallet stolen while he was going for a swim at the beach on Saturday 6 July.

Speaking on behalf of Ms Robinson, the spokesperson added: "Ben went to the local police station to report the theft, after several hours in the station, he left and attempted to find the apartment he was staying in.

"After becoming lost, due to only staying on the island for a matter of weeks, he eventually found the apartment in the late hours of that day.

"Despite knocking, his flatmates didn’t let him in and in a distressed state, Ben broke the lock to gain entry.

"The following days with his flatmates were tough as tensions about the broken door developed, despite his promising to pay for the damages caused under the extenuating circumstances."

Ms Robinson tried to arrange a bank transfer for Ben on 10 July to support himself financially after losing all of his possessions.

The spokesperson continued: "Upon returning to the flat, Ben’s mental health had declined and the distress of what was going on caused him to cut communications with his mum.

"Like most parents of young adults, Felix believed after a day or two that her son would be back in touch. Unfortunately, this did not happen.

"Felix received a distressed email claiming to be from Ben on a new email address due to not being able to access any of his existing accounts.

"The email told her what had happened and that he was not interested in what happened next to him, which has left Felix seriously concerned for her son.

"Despite previous reports claiming their homicide team were looking for Ben already, this has transpired to not be the case due to GMP’s repeated failures to activate the Interpol protocols."

The mum of three has now been supported by the British Consulate, to make a full missing persons report to the police in Majorca in the hopes this will activate an emergency search for her son.

Ms Robinson plans to start on-the-ground searches and go door-to-door from where Ben is staying.

Worrying about the significant costs of travel during the school holiday and the peak British holiday season, friends of Ms Robinson have set up a GoFundMe page to help support her cover the costs of the search for her son.

The crowdfunder created on Wednesday 16 July has now reached nearly £4,000.