Ryan Jones, 34, had been visiting the Dutch city with pals and was close to boarding a flight at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol when he said he had to retrieve his travel documents, and didn’t return
A mystery has gripped the Netherlands after a British man left his group of friends just moments before they were due to fly home. Ryan Jones, 34, and his pals were at Amsterdam Airport Schipol preparing to fly back to the UK on May 4 when Ryan told them he’d forgotten to bring his travel documents and needed to fetch them.
He walked away from the party at 2.17pm, and apart from a brief call, that was the last time they heard from him. Cops in the Netherlands have launched a manhunt, and an appeal asking for help tracking down a “large man, 6’3″ tall, possibly wearing a white baseball cap and has a tattoo on his right forearm”.
This is not the first time the Netherlands has been put in this position, with Brit travellers regularly going missing in the European city, which is most famous for its cannabis cafes, red light district, and popular party scene.
One of the most famous and tragic cases involved a 20-year-old Brit called Thomas Delafay, also known as Taiga Akabane, whose disappearance shocked the UK for a number of weeks before his body was found in a ditch.
Thomas had been treated as a “high risk missing person” after he went missing while in Holland – where he and his boyfriend were visiting a friend.
Dutch police launched a search operation to track down the 20-year-old “fun and outgoing” young man, but tragically found his body in a ditch close to where he was last seen at Dijklander Hospital.
Thomas went missing after suffering a reported psychotic break and experiencing hallucinations, according to his sister Holly Delafay.
Taking to Facebook, Holly shared her grief, saying her sould was “crushed” and her heart “broken”.
Her post continued: “We will miss you so much, I don’t know what to do with my life now that you’re not in it. I feel so lost without my baby brother.
“You mean the absolute world to me and I’m so lost and broken without you. You’re my best friend. I love you so so much. Fly high and rest easy baby bro.”
She went on to thank everyone who helped by sharing posts about Thomas’s disappearance.
She said: “We want to thank everyone who helped to find my brother and those who did there upmost and went above and beyond to offer their help and resources to find him. We love you all so so much.”.
For advice, support and options, if you or someone you love goes missing, text or call Missing People’s Helpline on 116 000 or email [email protected]. It’s free, confidential and non-judgmental, and sightings information can also be taken. Or visit www.missingpeople.org.uk