British woman Mary Gavin, 39, has vanished on the Spanish island of Formentera after she hired a motorboat but never returned
A British woman reported missing after she hired a boat on a popular Spanish holiday island has now been named as Mary Gavin, 39, as the authorities issued her photograph.
Mary had hired a 15-foot motorboat from the port of La Savina, Formentera, in the Balearic Islands, to “take a spin” along the holiday island’s coast. The Brit did not say where she was heading but left the port at around 6.30pm on Wednesday. Mary has not been heard from since she left and the boat she had travelled on has also not been seen.
The local Maritime Rescue on Thursday confirmed they received a call at 8.34pm, from the small business Mary rented her boat from. A search and rescue mission, using a helicopter and a vessel from the nearby island of Ibiza were used, was immediately launched.
Authorities revealed neither Mary nor the boat were found during this search. The operation continued on Thursday and a Red Cross rescue boat also joined in the desperate efforts.
Local police also launched an investigation on the island following her disappearance.
A Civil Guard spokesperson said: “The Civil Guard’s Judicial Police unit has been investigating this woman’s disappearance but two vessels belonging to our Maritime Unit were mobilised yesterday along with one from the specialist sub-aquatic GEAS unit.
“The officers from the Maritime Unit conduct the searches from speedboats and the GEAS are essentially diving specialists.”
The boat company where Mary hired the vessel from refused to comment on the case. A person who answered the phone at Helix Charter Formentera said this morning: “We’re not going to say anything about this.”
A police source earlier said the missing woman had been living on one of the Balearic islands for around two months, although it was not immediately clear if the island is Ibiza or Formentera
The well-placed insider added: “All lines of investigation are open at the moment. All our efforts are focusing on trying to find the boat and the missing woman and hopefully she will be discovered alive.”