TAMARINDO, Costa Rica - The family of missing British journalist, Michael Dixon, continues to search for him following his disappearance in Costa Rica. Michael was reported missing over two weeks ago in Tamarindo, Guanacaste, where he was on holiday.
Costa Rica is a popular holiday destination for millions of tourists each year and this industry sector yielded USD 1.9 billion in foreign currency in 2007. Despite its reputation of being a relatively safe country in Central American terms, Michael’s disappearance is the latest in a string of incidents in the Guanacaste region. According to the local newspaper, A.M. Costa Rica, David Gimelfarb from the USA went missing there in August this year and Craig Snell, a US expatriate, disappeared in February 2009.
Michael’s disappearance has been widely reported in the Costa Rican press and the international media - including the BBC, Sky News, La Nación and PR Newswire. A Facebook group set up to help find Michael now has over 1,500 members: Help Find Michael Dixon
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=165326214690#/groups/edit.php?members&gid=165326214690
Group members have successfully alerted the media to Michael’s disappearance and gained valuable support from locals in Tamarindo, who are distributing flyers in the town.
Timeline so far: - 18 October: Michael checks into the Villas Macondo at 3 pm - 19 October: Michael is reportedly seen leaving his hotel in the early morning - 21 October: Hotel calls local police to tell them Michael is missing and checks the local hospitals - 21 October: Foreign Office receives report from the hotel that Michael is missing - 26 October: Michael’s family and colleagues become concerned after he fails to turn up for work. Colleagues gain access to Michael’s email and find a message in his mailbox dated 21 October from the Villas Macondo hotel, expressing concern that Michael has disappeared - 26 October: Police search Michael’s hotel room and find the majority of his belongings intact - 29 October: Members of Michael’s family start to arrive in Costa Rica - 31 October: Searches begin by boat and plane
Many different unconfirmed theories are being put forward about Michael’s whereabouts, but his family members are keeping an open mind, especially since concerns have been raised over the accuracy of the October 19 morning sighting. As a result, Michael’s family is anxious to find out about his movements on the evening of Sunday 18th October.
David Dixon, Michael’s brother, commented, “We are working with Costa Rican authorities, the British Foreign Office and the Red Cross to find Michael, but we would appreciate information from local people in Tamarindo who may have seen him in the town, especially on Sunday 18th October or Monday 19th October.”
Anybody with information is asked to contact the numbers below. All calls will be treated confidentially.
Scott Simpson - (+506)8896-4120
OIJ - (+506)8865-7629 OR (+506)2681-4062
Hotline - (+507)836-5065
Email: findmichaeldixon@gmail.com
Donations to help with the search can be made online at this link: fundraisers.everyclick.com/info.xq?id=1131350&fundraiser-name=Lucie-Blackman-Trust&tb=1
(Due to the length of these URLs, it may be necessary to copy and paste the hyperlinks into your Internet browser’s URL address field. Remove the space if one exists.)
About Michael Dixon:
Michael is a 33-year-old male, based in Brussels, Belgium. He was born in Salford, England and grew up in France. His height is approximately 1.70 m and he weighs around 65 kg. Michael is of slender build, with black short hair that is balding. His eyes are light brown and his shoe size is 6 (European 39). He speaks fluent English and French and has limited Spanish language skills.
Press contacts: Clive Stephenson - +1-912-492-6485 David Dixon - +44-79-207-922-04
Source: Family of Michael Dixon
Anybody with information is asked to contact the numbers below. All calls will be treated confidentially. Scott Simpson - (+506)8896-4120, OIJ - (+506)8865-7629 OR (+506)2681-4062, Hotline - (+507)836-5065, Email: findmichaeldixon at gmail.com; Press contacts: Clive Stephenson - +1-912-492-6485; David Dixon - +44-79-207-922-04
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