Jordan Jacobs: Brit reappears in Thailand after mystery disappearance
The 21-year-old missed flight home and was last seen barefoot and without belongings
A British man who went missing in Thailand and sent a series of distressing messages to his family has been found "safe and really well".
Jordan Jacobs, 21, from Lyneham, Wiltshire, failed to make his flight home on Wednesday for Christmas, leaving his worried family appealing for information about his whereabouts.
His sister Emily wrote a post on Facebook, explaining that he had rung their parents on Saturday evening and sounded "upset".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The phone he used for the call belonged to a Cypriot tourist, who informed the family that Jordan had approached him barefoot without a bag and asked to use his phone, the Daily Mail reported. The family believed a Thai man, who had apparently taken Jordan to the island for free, was connected to his disappearance.
"Saturday morning my mum received a message via Facebook from my brother, which basically said he can never see us again, that he is sorry he can't see us one last time, that he loved us," Emily later told the Mail. "He was upset and said that the man wouldn't let him leave. That he was scared of him."
Emily said there was no more contact until Monday morning when her brother appeared online. She was able to speak to him for around a minute and a half using Facebook wifi messenger, but he "couldn't or wouldn't" tell her where he was.
"I asked if he was OK, where he was, and he said 'I've said too much. I can't talk. I love you.' And that was it. We've had no contact since," she said.
A Foreign Office spokesman had confirmed that Jordan had been reported missing on 12 December and that it was providing consular assistance to the family.
However, today the police told The Guardian that they had found him "alive and really well".
"We found him trying to apply for a diving job on Koh Phi Phi. He was walking along the beach," said Police Col Lt Jetsada Junphum on Koh Phi Phi Don. "He has 6-7,000 baht (£110-£130) left and a credit card. He shaved his beard."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Trump's partly stormy day in court
Speed Read Porn actress Stormy Daniels testified in graphic detail about her 2006 encounter with the former president
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake: how real is the feud?
In the spotlight Beef between Californian rapper and Canadian hip-hop star goes 'nuclear' with diss tracks full of serious allegations
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Eurovision 2024: how is politics playing out in Sweden?
Today's big question World's most popular song contest 'has always been politically charged' but 'this year perhaps more so than ever'
By The Week UK Published
-
NHS tells Scots to walk like penguins
Tall Tales Walk like penguins in the snow, says NHS
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe's oldest shoes found in Spanish caves
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published