A
n England soccer fan who set off an international search after vanishing on his way to the World Cup was found safe in a Barcelona pub, completely unaware that anyone was looking for him. Michael Hewitt, a 65-year-old Leeds United supporter known as “Little Mick,” left the UK on June 20th with a layover in Barcelona before a connecting flight to Boston for England’s match against Ghana. But soon after arriving in Spain, he lost his phone, which held all his travel tickets and every contact number he knew. Stuck but unbothered, he simply stayed in Barcelona and spent his days watching England games in local bars.
His family last heard from him on June 21st and grew frantic, eventually pulling in the British Foreign Office and Interpol. After 10 days, the British Embassy traced his hotel through his bank card payments and reunited him with relatives by phone. As his brother Gary put it, Michael was blissfully unaware the world was searching for him. He still had his passport and money, so he never thought to contact the embassy.
Source: People
