One year and still searching

Just over one year ago, on July 8 last year, Briton Jeffrey Hodgson went missing in Ibiza - but it is believed he is still alive. Hodgson has a mental age of eight and disappeared while he and his parents Beryl and Derek, were checking into the their hotel in Cala Llonga. His parents however have not given up hope of their son being returned safely and over the past year, fuelled by reported sightings of Jeffrey, a huge UK and Ibiza based campaign to find the missing Briton has gathered momentum. Ibiza police did mount a search operation with support from the army, sniffer dogs and helicopters but found nothing. The Hodgson family however maintain that large areas of the resort were left unsearched. Ten days after Jeffrey went missing, the K9 search and rescue team flew to Ibiza from the Yorkshire base with their highly trained dogs to help the search effort - but found nothing. During the transfer from the airport to the hotel on July 8, Jeffrey had proved problematic - the year before the family had gone to the Costa del Sol, which is where Jeffrey thought he was going - when told otherwise he reacted badly - but on arrival at the new hotel he had adjusted to the thought of being in unfamiliar surroundings, 20 minutes later he vanished. Two weeks after he was reported missing, the authorities in Ibiza called off the intense search and his broken-hearted family returned home to Stockport to exert pressure from the UK. Spanish police have been keeping a lookout for Jeffrey while on routine patrol, while his brother and sister have been back and forth to Ibiza, handing out thousands of flyers, posters and t-shirts to keep local publicity alive. Their Tory MEP David Sumberg has also backed the continuing search for Jeffrey and has written to the central government delegate in Ibiza requesting an island-wide search. Police in Ibiza have received and followed up reports of daily sightings, none led anywhere until recently. The significance of a “C” registration cream American camper van which was reported close to the spot of the last positive sighting of Jeffrey on a bench near the beach in Cala Llonga - has not been discounted by the police and now the authorities are trying to locate the camper van. Because of the difficult rocky road leading out of Cala Llonga - police and the family doubt Jeffrey walked away from the resort unaided. Police have questioned bus and taxi drivers and police have conluded that he left the resort by getting a lift, either voluntarily or by coercion. He left with no money, identification and medication. He needs daily care and medication to control epilepsy and has never been away from his family of carers for so long - but the family still hold out hope and are determined to find Jeffrey.