Spanish TV hopes for family in search for lost mum
Appeal 3 years after disappearance
The family of a mum missing in Spain have said they hope new leads will emerge after the case appeared on the country’s version of Crimewatch.
Inves t igat ive prog ramme Desaparecidos, on Spain’s TVE channel, highlighted the case of expat Lisa, 32, who vanished almost three years ago.
She is feared to have been murdered and her Liverpudlian boyfriend Simon Corner, 35, is on the run after being released on bail over her disappearance.
The UK’s ambassador to Spain Simon Manly was interviewed by presenter Silvia Intxaurrondo for a 14-minute segment on Wednesday night’s show to publicise the £100,000 reward the family have raised for information to help find her.
The show is watched by two million viewers.
Lisa’s brother Craig Douglas, 48, said: “The TV appeal is a massive boost. As far as I’m led to believe it’s Spain’s answer to Crimewatch UK.
“The police needed someone to speak Spanish so Simon Manly, the British Ambassador, appeared.
“We’re uplifted that they’re taking an interest.
“The police haven’t said yet if they’ve had any new leads from the show. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.”
The family announced they had raised the £ 100,000 reward for information to find Lisa at a press conference in Spain last month.
Mum Lisa has not been seen since vanishing from her home in Cadiz, near Gibraltar, in November 2015.
Her 10- year- old son Marco is now being cared for by her ex-partner in Spain.
Lisa is presumed dead by the Spanish authorities and her yachtdealer boyfriend Corner is the prime suspect.
Corner fled to Thailand after Lisa went missing. He was extradited to Spain from Denmark in April 2016 but went on the run again after being controversially granted bail 11 months later.
Corner had previously been jailed for three months in Gibraltar for possession of an offensive weapon.
Craig said: “I think everybody knows Lisa’s dead. That’s the harsh reality of it.
“I don’t think Corner will ever hand himself in so we’re relying on his associates turning on him.
“In the passages of time people fall out, especially in the circles he runs in.
“We think there’s a small group of people in that area of Spain and Gibraltar know exactly what’s happened.
“God knows what Lisa’s son Marco is thinking.
“His mum was the most i mp or t a nt person in his life. To come back from school and she’s never, ever there again is as bad as it gets.
“They know what’s happened and they’re going on as normal.
“How can anyone do that when a little boy’s lost his mum?
He added: “It took us more than two years to raise £100,000 through crowd- funding. It’s a figure that stands out.”
Craig says the family’s life has been turned upside down by the torment of losing her.
He said: “It has been a horrendous time. We’re just ordinary people and for something like this to happen to you is terrifying. “It’s the old cliche that you never think something like this will happen to you. “We might one day find Lisa and we might be fortunate enough to bring her home and give her the respect that everyone deserves with a proper funeral. “But I don’t think we’ll ever get total closure. “I never met Corner. I think they were together eight to 10 months. “Hindsight’s a wonderful thing. We’d have never let her go to Spain but you never know what’s in front of you.”