Family of missing Scottish chef arrive in Algarve

My friends, this was taken from The Portugal News newspaper:

http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/family-of-missing-scottish-chef-arrive-in-algarve/32837

You might be interested to see a Scots report on this story, Pedro:

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/angus-the-mearns/family-fly-out-to-search-for-arbroath-man-missing-in-portugal-1.596357

The family of an Angus man missing in Portugal since September 15 have flown to the Algarve to search for him.

Jon Anderson Edwards, 31, from Arbroath, had been working as a chef in Lagos when he went missing from his flat, leaving his clothes, passport and mobile phone.

His sister Kenna Balion flew to the Algarve to visit hospitals in the area but could find no record of him being admitted. She also spoke to police and some of Jon’s friends.

She has now called on the Portuguese police to widen the search from Lagos, a small town with a population of around 22,000.

Speaking from Portugal she said: “I don’t have faith in the authorities over here. There’s a lack of communication. This has been 10 days he has been missing, with no answers.

“When he was last seen, he was apparently very unwell yet we are receiving no answers or clues.

“The police need to be widening the search. Lagos is a small town so it is clear he is not there any more. This should have been done as soon as he was reported missing.

“He simply cannot vanish without a trace.”

She will be joined by her mother Lesley Edwards on Saturday. They plan to put up posters in the area appealing for information.

Lesley said: “Jon is a young lad without ties who likes to travel. We learned he was missing at the weekend and since then we have imagined every scenario.

“If he had received a knock to the head we don’t know what his state of mind has been when he left the flat.”

Jon attended Arbroath Academy and Angus College and worked at Arbroath’s Townhouse Hotel until March this year.

Dago Lipke, manager of the Rockfood Café where Jon worked, reported the matter to police after Jon was not seen for three days.

He said: “Jon came to work on Friday and after 10 minutes he was vomiting in the bathroom. He said he didn’t feel good and went home. The next day he didn’t come to work, which was unusual because he seemed very responsible. I heard he had a headache.

“The next day I went to his apartment at 10pm and he was already in bed. I told Jon don’t you think it would be better to go to hospital if you still have headaches. He said it was getting better.

“On Monday his flatmate left for work and Jon wasn’t there when he came back in the late afternoon.

“He left his passport, all his personal belongings and his telephone, which was very unusual because he was always playing with his telephone. We are very concerned for him.”



Rather an important part - about not trusting local authorities - appears to be missing from the Portugal News version.

this is not new:

"There’s a lack of communication. This has been 10 days he has been missing, with no answers."

“The police need to be widening the search. Lagos is a small town so it is clear he is not there any more. This should have been done as soon as he was reported missing."

And once again, the family is having to do basic police work themselves.

Once more we are reading about how bad the Portuguese police are.  Shocking!

Once more we are reading about how bad the Portuguese police are.  Shocking!

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/angus-the-mearns/family-of-missing-jon-edwards-hope-chef-is-found-in-portuguese-hippy-commune-1.604274

The family of missing Arbroath man Jon Edwards hope his disappearance can be explained by him joining a hippy commune in Portugal.

Jon’s whereabouts have been unknown since he left his apartment in Lagos in the West Algarve at some point on September 15 – leaving behind his mobile phone, clothes and passport.

During a visit to investigate the disappearance at the weekend, Jon’s sister Kenna heard about a travelling community who travel along the coast.

Further investigation by Jon’s mother Lesley Edwards, who is still in Portugal, has found out more information about a hippy commune in the area. The information has been passed to local detectives.

Jon, 30, has travelled all over the world – working in Israel, Belgium and Germany in the past. He would return to Arbroath to raise funds to enable him to travel again.

Lesley said the commune sounded similar to one Jon was part of while in Israel.

An earlier report:

The family of an Arbroath man who disappeared in Portugal have met local police.

Jon Anderson Edwards, 31, has been missing since September 15 after he failed to return to his apartment in Lagos in the Algarve.

His sister Kenna Balion and mother Lesley Edwards have flown to Portugal to find out more about what happened.

On Friday, the pair met with detectives in Portimão to find out the progress of the police investigation.

Jon, who had been working in the town as a chef, posted on Facebook on September 12 that he had “knocked himself out” the previous night after falling down a hill while he was drunk.

That day he was sent home from work after vomiting and didn’t turn up to work for the next two days and complained of headaches.

On September 15 his flatmate found he had left their apartment, leaving behind his clothes, passport and mobile phones.

The family, who were informed of Jon’s disappearance last weekend, have made appeals through social media for anyone who has seen Jon to contact them.


Portimao police don't seem to have got much better at finding people.

My friends, this was taken from The Portugal Resident newspaper:

http://portugalresident.com/missing-scot-may-have-joined-hippies

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/angus-the-mearns/arbroath-family-kept-in-the-dark-three-months-on-from-man-s-disappearance-in-portugal-1.718821

Arbroath family ‘kept in the dark’ three months on from man’s disappearance in Portugal

he family of an Arbroath man who is missing abroad say they are being “kept in the dark” by Portuguese police.

Jon Edwards disappeared from his apartment in Lagos on September 15.

His sister Kenna Balion and mother Lesley travelled to west Algarve that month in a bid to discover more but since returning say they have received no information about the investigation from the Policia Judiciaria.

Kenna said: “Jon has been missing for almost three months and we are no further forward.

“When we were first made aware of Jon’s disappearance, my mum and I flew to Portugal to establish what had happened, as well as ensure that steps were being taken to find him.

“But since returning, we have been kept in the dark — the PJ have made no effort to contact us.

“I read in a Portuguese newspaper article that the PJ have drawn a blank but this is not something they have discussed with us.”

Jon, 31, started working at a restaurant in Lagos at the start of September.

He posted a message on his Facebook account stating that he had knocked himself unconscious by falling down a hill in the early hours of September 12.

He was sent home from his job as a chef after vomiting later that day and suffered from headaches and dizziness in the following two days before he disappeared.


That doesn't sound good. But this business of the PJ ignoring relatives is, unfortunately, all too familiar.