Body found near Estepona believed to be missing British man

A body found in the Paraiso area near Estepona on Spain’s Costa del Sol is believed to be Andrew Wade, a 65-year-old British man who disappeared on Aug. 15, authorities said. Investigators stressed that confirmation of the person’s identity and the cause of death remains pending as the inquiry continues.

National Police officers, with assistance from Civil Protection and the Estepona Fire Brigade, announced today that they had organized an extensive search operation after Wade’s disappearance. They said their work included studying the steps the man might have taken in the days leading up to his disappearance, which appeared to indicate he was preparing to move back to his country of origin. The search focused on a wooded area with dense undergrowth in Paraiso, where officials had previously conducted drone assessments without locating anything definitive.

This morning, officers said a body was found in Paraiso and that investigators believed it to be Wade. Well-placed sources said the body appears to be his, though formal identification and a determination of the cause of death are still to come. At the time Wade went missing, reports said he had left behind two cats, a detail cited by friends as highly uncharacteristic. An acquaintance described him as a lovely person. Police had previously indicated that Wade might have been driving a black Volkswagen Golf, a detail that has figured in ongoing inquiries and public appeals for information.

Spanish charity SOS Desaparecidos repeated appeals for anyone with information to come forward, urging witnesses to contact authorities. The case has drawn attention to efforts to locate missing travelers along the Costa del Sol, where authorities say cooperation between national and local agencies has been critical to the search.

The investigation will continue as officials verify the identity, collect evidence at the scene, and determine the cause of death. Authorities cautioned that updates would be released as more information becomes available, and they thanked volunteers and responders who participated in the multi-agency search effort. Further details are expected to be provided by the National Police as the inquiry progresses.