Two off-duty Birmingham police officers have been praised after reuniting a missing man from Leeds with his family while all were on holiday in Spain.
PC Lamb and PC Somers, of West Midlands Police, were enjoying time off in Barcelona when they started chatting to a man known as "Little Mick" in a bar. At the time, they did not know the man had been reported missing by his family in Leeds after vanishing on his way to the World Cup, with an international search underway.
Chance meeting in a bar
After later seeing social media posts about the search, the Birmingham-based officers realised who they had been talking to. PC Lamb and PC Somers contacted local authorities and liaised with police in Barcelona, sharing all the information they had in the hope of reuniting Michael Hewitt with his family.
It was later established that the Leeds man was completely unaware of the large-scale search for him. This was because he had lost his phone and had not seen any of the coverage about himself online.
Lost phone and missed flight
Mr Hewitt's disappearance received widespread media coverage as he seemingly vanished while travelling to Boston for the World Cup to watch England play Ghana in June. After losing his phone, the 65-year-old stayed in Barcelona 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
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."
