Laurence Dollimore
THE family of a missing tourist have launched a GoFundMe in a bid to find him and ‘get him the help he needs.’
Ryan Anthony has not contacted his family in the US for weeks, after travelling to Barcelona on April 10 ‘to pursue his love of teaching abroad.’
After the Olive Press first reported his story this week, he was tracked down to a hostel in Sitges, where workers told this paper he visits daily. However he has not been seen for the past couple of days.
His mother Kim Anthony is now set to fly into Spain in a bid to track him down.
In an online appeal, Ryan’s aunt Jackie Herman wrote: “I started this Go Fund Me to offset costs and support for my sister Kim Anthony to help my nephew Ryan Anthony.
“Ryan left for Barcelona , Spain April 10, to pursue his love for teaching abroad. Ryan struggles with mental health issues and is in crisis right now. He has been able to balance things and lead a productive life thus far, despite his struggles.
“He has been missing for almost two weeks, my sister is working with detectives in her hometown in Texas, as well as the US Embassy in Spain.
“Due to my niece’s outreach on Social media and the awesome community in Spain, a woman at a hostel recognised his picture, we received word last night that he has been seen and is alive, he was not looking well and in crisis.
“His wallet, phone, passport have all been stolen, He has been sleeping in the lobby of hostel at night and wandering streets during the day. We pray he is located again.”
She added: “The donations we hope to receive from this will help to alleviate the financial stress as my sister will need to travel there, and begin the process of getting Ryan the help he needs (he has no insurance) as he is between jobs, the length of time there is unknown.
“If you are unable to help, please just pray for his safety, and my sister’s safety as she embarks on this emotional journey. Kim and her husband Keith are both cancer survivors… . This is a very hard ask, they are very private people, and no one ever expects this to happen in their family.”
Ryan’s sister Kayli Anthony Willis previously said it was ‘not like him’ to leave more than 24 hours without contacting her.
In the initial appeal on social media she wrote: “My brother Ryan has been missing for 2 weeks now. We have filed a report with the US embassy in Barcelona and also here in the United States.
“The last message he sent me he was in Sitges for Pride festival with some friends. It is not like him to not check in with any of his family , and all our calls and texts are not delivering.
“He is about 6 foot tall and the nicest person. If anyone has come in contact recently or knows where he is, PLEASE message me or notify the US embassy.”
