A BRITISH round-the-world sailor has vanished on Gran Canaria after being last seen at a popular Irish pub.
James Nunan, 34, disappeared after a night at Paddy’s Anchor with police confirming to have found his dog and boat but no sign of the Brit.
FacebookBrit James Nunan has vanished on Gran Canaria as his dog and boat have been discovered[/caption]
FacebookJames was sailing around the world when he vanished[/caption]
FacebookJames’ Jack Russell, known as Thumbelina, has been discovered[/caption]
The builder from Reading, better-known to family and friends as Jemsie, was seen at Paddy’s Anchor in the island capital Las Palmas Las Palmas on August 18.
Hours later, he vanished after going for a late-night kebab six minutes from the pub.
His half-sister Nikita Goddard, a trainer from Lincoln, said his backpack had been stolen on the night of his disappearance.
She also fears his passport may have been taken too.
It comes as official records show James reported his passport as lost or stolen at the Irish Embassy on August 19 – a day after he was last seen or heard from.
Paddy’s Anchor has shared appeals by James’ worried family on social media saying: “Many of you have been asking, so we want to share this post from Jemsie’s family.
“His sister is still searching for him after he was last seen here in Las Palmas.
“His boat has since been found off the coast of Gran Canaria, but there has been no contact from him since.”
A call was made between August 24 or 25 in relation to James’ boat as police found it a day later 50 miles off shore.
James’ Jack Russell, known as Thumbelina, was then discovered shortly after.
There remains no information on where James could be.
A witness has come forwards to claim he spoke to James as he said the Brit was drunk but not acting in any unusual manner.
He had reportedly told him about his sailing adventures and that he planned to head to Lanzarote.
Police have since managed to trace his bank records and found he last used his card to buy food at Rico Doner Kebab.
Pub staff are now claiming they had been told not to speak to anyone about the mysterious disappearance.
A man who picked up the phone at the pub said: “It’s an open investigation and we’ve been told not to speak to anyone and I’ve just got to go with that I’m afraid.”
Asked if it was local police or Mr Nunan’s family who had asked him not to speak, he said: “I can’t talk about it, sorry.”
The National Police in Las Palmas and court officials on the island have been approached for comment.
A police spokesman said today he would check whether the force wanted to say anything publicly about the investigation.
A judge would have been informed about the British man’s disappearance as part of standard procedure.
An initial investigation is set to be opened pending a full police report.
James was in the middle of a lengthy solo sailing trip and planned to travel to Brazil.
He was five months into the journey after having earned enough money as a bricklayer in the UK.
He moored his yacht in a neighbourhood of Las Palmas called Las Isletas, according to his family.
Nikita said in a Facebook post last week he last contacted their mum on August 18.
In an update yesterday she added: “We had already been told that Jemsie’s backpack was stolen on the 18th while he was at the kebab shop, but we’ve now learned that his passport may also have been taken later that night.
“He usually carried it in a lanyard around his neck, and I know it wasn’t in his bag as the person who told me about the backpack being stolen also confirmed that Jemsie still had the lanyard with his passport on him at the time.
“Records show that Jemsie reported his passport as lost or stolen at the Irish Embassy on 19th August.
“We have asked for CCTV to confirm that it was indeed Jemsie who attended.”
FacebookThe missing person poster for James[/caption]
GettyHis boat was found off the coast of the island capital Las Palmas in Gran Canaria[/caption]