Two off-duty police officers on holiday in Spain found a missing England fan by accident and reunited him with his family. PC Lamb and PC Somers, of West Midlands Police, were enjoying time off in Barcelona when they began chatting to a man known as "Little Mick" in a bar. They did not realise at the time that the man had been reported missing by his family in Leeds.
Officers spot social media posts
The Birmingham officers only realised who they had been speaking to after later seeing social media posts about the search. PC Lamb and PC Somers contacted the local authorities and liaised with police in Barcelona, sharing all the information they had and hoping to reunite Michael Hewitt with his family.
The Leeds man was completely unaware of the large-scale search for him, it was established. This was due to the fact he had lost his phone and so had not seen any of the coverage about himself online.
Lost phone halted travel plans
Mr Hewitt seemingly vanished while travelling to Boston for the World Cup to watch England play Ghana in June, and his disappearance was met with widespread media coverage. The 65-year-old stayed in Barcelona after losing his phone as he was unable to access his tickets for the flight to the United States.
In a statement released following the happy ending, Mr Hewitt's brother Gary said: "Little Mick is safe and well in Barcelona, blissfully unaware that the whole world was searching for him. As a family, we desperately wanted an embarrassingly simple but happy ending to this horrendous episode and we now have that."
Officers commended for actions
The search for the retired trade union official and Leeds United fan lasted 10 days. PC Lamb and PC Somers have been commended for their actions in helping locate Mr Hewitt.
Birmingham Police Chief Inspector Sean Corrigan said: "The officers' actions demonstrate our values as a police force, as even on holiday they acted quickly to help a potentially vulnerable man in need. By quickly recognising who they'd been speaking to, and immediately informing Spanish authorities, they helped end an international search."
"While the man involved may have just been enjoying a holiday himself, we commend our officers for interrupting theirs and going above and beyond."
