Concern grows over missing holidaymaker
FAMILY APPEAL FOR HELP AFTER WOMAN, 42, DISAPPEARS DURING TRIP TO SPAIN
THE worried family of a woman who has gone missing while on holiday on the Costa del Sol have issued an urgent public appeal.
Ex-pats living in southern Spain and holidaymakers preparing to fly out are being urged to help.
Marie McManus, 42, from Hazel Grove, Stockport, was last heard from more than a month ago.
Her family say she told them in a phone call that her handbag containing her mobile phone had been stolen and her bank account hasn’t been accessed since July 11.
Police in Spain and Interpol have been alerted and her passport has been flagged.
Marie’s brother, Declan McManus, 35, said she spoke to their mother Tina on July 15 using a stranger’s mobile she had asked to borrow to make the call.
That’s the last contact they have had with her.
It’s understood Marie, who worked as a cleaner at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, used her debit card to pay for a hotel room in Torremolinos on July 8 and again in the same resort three days later.
Declan said she flew out to Spain, landing at Malaga then travelling to Puerto Banus and Marbella before going to Torremolinos, in early to midMay.
“We just want her to call one of us just to let us know she is okay,” he said. “If she doesn’t want to come home that’s fine. We just want to know she’s safe and well. The family are very concerned about her and just want to know she’s safe.”
Ex-pats and holidaymakers in the coastal resorts of Benalmadena, Fuengirola, Torremolinos, Malaga and Marbella are being urged to circulate her details and spread the word. Bars and restaurants have also been contacted.
One of three siblings, Marie was a former pupil at Harrytown RC High School in Romiley. She has no children but several nieces and nephews.
Declan said: “The police in Spain have been informed, as have the police here.
“Interpol has also rang my mother. A flag has been placed on her passport, meaning she will be spoken to if she tries to leave a country via an airport or port. They will just be asking if she’s okay.
“We have heard she might have been getting a job on a boat somewhere, but we are not sure.
“We just do not know what to do. We hope that she has just gone off the radar and does not want to be contacted which is fine. We don’t really know what to do or where she is. We have been told by the police not to travel out to Spain because there is not much to go on.”
Declan urged anyone with information to contact the police in Spain, via the 112 emergency number, or the UK police on 101. All information will be treated as confidential.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed that Ms McManus had been reported missing.