Jason Taylor, 36, tried several times to scan his ticket for his EasyJet flight home – but when an error message popped up telling him to contact the airline, he left to seek assistance and never returned
A group of friends travelling home from a stag do in Spain were left baffled when one member of the group went to an airport help desk to report an issue with his boarding pass and vanished for four days.
Jason Taylor, 36, tried several times to scan his ticket for the EasyJet flight from Alicante to Birmingham on Saturday, March 29 at around 9am. But when an error message popped up telling him to contact the airline, he left to seek assistance and never returned. Spanish police were alerted and launched a search for the Brit, whose concerned relatives flew to Spain in a bid to help track him down. It later emerged that Jason had left the airport on foot at around 9am, according to CCTV footage. The Welsh engineer was then spotted by a British woman walking along a beach close to the airport, and was miraculously found alive and safe four days after vanishing from the help desk.
Jason’s aunt, Robbie Fitzgerald, was among loved ones and friends who asked for the public’s help in tracking him down. She said on Tuesday in a short message on social media: “Jason has been found and is currently with his family. Thank you all for sharing and caring.” She gave no extra details about how or where he had been found.
Recalling his mysterious disappearance, Jason’s friend Gaz Edwards said at the time: “We arrived at the Alicante airport together on Saturday morning March 29 at about 8:30am. Our easyJet flight to Birmingham was due to depart at 10:30am, with the gates closing at 10:00am. Jason Taylor had lost his phone so had to access his boarding pass from someone else in the group assisting who had already passed the gate.”
“We tried several times to scan his boarding pass but it was not accepted and the gate would not open, an error message came up saying to contact the ariline, Jason went to go and ask for assistance. One member of the group waited behind the gate for him to return but this was the last we saw or heard from him.”
“It is very unlike Jason and the family is worried sick. Jason was not ill, or drunk or incapable. We have several people flying back out today to try to find him and understand what has happened. UK police have been informed and it has been passed up to Interpol, who now have an alert on his passport so we would be made aware if it has been used. We are also in contact with the Uk consulate. Please only contact me with serious information if you know of anything.”
In an update he added: “We now know that Jason left the airport around 9am on Saturday morning on foot as we have been able to access the airport CCTV. Please can everyone look out for him and any information however small please update us. He was wearing dark shorts and a collared T-shirt which was white and white trainers with a black wheeled suitcase”.
A well-placed source said Taylor had been walking along Urbanova Beach – around three miles from Alicante city centre and close to the airport he vanished from on Saturday, when he was sighted. They added: “Police were alerted and the missing man reunited with his family.” It is not yet clear why he vanished or where he spent the near-four days and three nights during his disappearance.