Mum wants UK police to lead hunt for missing son

The mum of a British rugby player who disappeared in Barcelona two years ago says "it's very hard knowing he could be out there".

Levi Davis was last seen in the Spanish city in October 2022, and has not been found despite appeals and searches.

His mum Julie says the lack of progress in the investigation has been "frustrating" and she wants police here to do more. But, UK police say the investigation is being run by Spanish officers and they will help "if there are any further developments".

"Until a body is found, I have to remain hopeful," Julie says.

Levi, who was 24 when he went missing, had played rugby for Bath and Worthing and appeared on Celebrity X Factor.

He was in Ibiza working on music when he took a boat to Barcelona on 29 October.

His last known contact with any friends or family came after midnight on 30 October, when he sent a WhatsApp voice note.

Julie says the two-year anniversary of his disappearance is "bringing back the emotional anxiety and sleepless nights".

The morning after Levi disappeared, passengers on a cruise ship close to Barcelona's port reported seeing a man in the water.

A search was launched and later called off when no-one from the boat was found to be missing.

Levi's passport was found at the port a few weeks later.

Police in Barcelona confirmed they were investigating the possibility Levi had drowned, and later closed the case.

For the last 14 months, investigative journalists Dan Evans and Tom Latchem have been looking into the case for the independent publication Byline Times.

"The police [in Barcelona] have failed to properly get CCTV, they didn't get the communications history Levi was using and they didn't do anything properly," the pair claim.

They say they have been looking into the possibility Levi might have been blackmailed and want the case to be looked at more thoroughly.

"This is an international case, which has fallen between gaps and the police don't work together," they say.

"The British police thought 'well it happened in Barcelona, we can wash our hands of it', and the police there have fluffed it."

Mossos d'Esquadra - the Catalan Police - have told the BBC they are waiting to hear from the courts whether there will be another investigation, as cases are directed by a judge.

Julie, from Solihull in the West Midlands, now wants the UK police to lead on the investigation.

She met with the Labour MP Jess Phillips in July, before she was made Minister for Safeguarding, to discuss the case and said she had been "very supportive".

West Midlands Police say the investigation is being run by the Spanish authorities and they will help "if there are any further developments", and continue to "offer support to Levi’s family".

But for Julie, she needs some answers.

"It's very hard being asked all the questions from other family and there being no update to give," she says.

"I don't know if my son is dead or alive. He's my baby and he's very vulnerable and I just want him home".

You can listen to File on 4's 'Looking for Levi' on BBC Sounds.