The family of missing Belfast man Robert Kincaid are racing to Paris in France after the 38-year-old disappeared after missing his flight to Dubin earlier this month
The family of a missing man is flying to France in a frantic bid to track him down after he mysteriously vanished at a busy airport before strangers answered his phone.
Robert Kincaid, 38, from the Tullycarnet area of East Belfast, hasn’t been seen or heard from in 10 days after failing to catch his connecting flight from Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris.
The oil rig worker was travelling to Dublin on July 17 after a stint offshore in Benin, West Africa, but he never made it onboard his final flight. Since then, there’s been radio silence. Worry turned to alarm when Robert’s family tried to FaceTime him later that night and were shocked when the call was answered by a man they didn’t recognise.
Even more chillingly, a second attempt the next day connected to a woman with a crying baby in the background before the phone went dead for good. Now, his devastated family is preparing to head to France themselves in a last-ditch effort to find him.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Robert’s brother Louis said the whole ordeal has been a waking nightmare. He said: “Robert had been working on an oil rig in Benin and was due to fly back on July 17. He missed his flight at ten past seven from Charles De Gaulle Airport, and now his phone is completely off.”
The last contact came just after 8pm that night where Robert admitted he’d had a few drinks after missing his flight. But at 10pm, the situation took a chilling twist.
His family said: “We tried FaceTiming him and it was answered by a black man in what looked like a corrugated hut. He spoke broken English and said the phone battery was dying and then the call cut out. The next day, a woman answered with a baby crying in the background. Since then, nothing. No calls. No texts. Just silence.”
The family has filed a missing person report with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and has been in touch with the British Embassy in Paris, but so far, they’ve been left in the dark.
“Everything’s going through Interpol, but we’ve had no updates,” Louis said. “The Embassy says Robert’s not in any hospitals or medical centres, but they can’t tell us much more. We are up to high dough with worry. This is completely out of character – he always keeps in touch.”
Determined to do something, the family is now preparing to fly to France on Wednesday to launch their own search, despite knowing how overwhelming the task ahead is.
Robert’s brother continued: “It’ll be like looking for a needle in a haystack. But we can’t just sit here and do nothing.”