Mystery of ‘gentle and intelligent’ Scot missing af ter Munich night-out
THE brother of a man who has gone missing in Germany has made an emotional appeal for him to come home.
Stuart Hicks, 37, urged 32-year-old Gareth to send a sign to let his family know if he is in trouble, pledging they will do everything they can to ‘protect’ him.
Gareth, from Forfar, Angus, moved to Germany at the start of January to stay with a friend who was teaching him some building skills, including plastering.
The former Angus Council welfare rights advocate is understood to have been with friends at Blitz Nightclub in Munich on February 22 before he left alone.
He has not been heard from since he posted a picture on Facebook captioned ‘modern slave’ in the early hours of the following morning. He then commented on the post saying: ‘Get out of jail free’. The family, including Mr Hicks and Gareth’s two sisters and parents, think the picture might have been taken in a bus station.
In a video posted on social media, Mr Hicks, who lives in Lincoln, described his brother as a kind, caring and gentle soul who is extremely intelligent.
He said: ‘As of right now we have no information as to the whereabouts of Gareth. Somebody must have seen him. He speaks very little German, even though he is living there.’
Addressing his brother directly, he said: ‘Your whole family is looking for you, and your friends. We’re all really worried. If you feel you are unsafe in any way, please just send a sign – we can protect you.’
Speaking to the Mail yesterday, Mr Hicks said Gareth does not know a lot of people in Germany and usually keeps in regular contact with the family. Mr Hicks, who has been to Germany to help with the search, added: ‘The family believe he may be hiding for some reason but we don’t know why.’
The Lucie Blackman Trust, which supports British nationals in trouble overseas, is helping the family. Its chief executive, Matthew Searle, asked the public: ‘Did you go to Blitz that night? Have you seen Gareth since that night? Please come forward with any information.’
The family has also created a donations page on Facebook to raise money for travel expenses to assist with the investigation.
Anyone with information can contact the Lucie Blackman Trust at ops@lbtrust.org.