Major update in Levi Davis search as X Factor star now missing for nearly a year

27 October 2023 , 11:00

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Levi Davis went missing on October 29 last year (Image: Mike Marsland/Getty Images for Verve Pictures)

An investigation into the whereabouts of missing X Factor star Levi Davis has been halted nearly a year after his disappearance, it is reported.

The rugby player, then 24, vanished on October 29 after leaving the UK and travelling alone to Barcelona - with the last confirmed sighting in CCTV footage leaving a bar near the city's thoroughfare. Police told his mum Julie that four cruise ship workers saw someone in the water shouting for help in English, just hours later at around 6.30am.

A lifebuoy was thrown but a subsequent search by police and the coastguard found nothing. Police divers searched the area of Barcelona's port in May, but failed to find any traces. Earlier this year, officers said they were continuing to collect evidence in their search, which has so far only turned up Levi's passport around 20 days after his disappearance.

The rugby player was last seen in CCTV footage leaving a bar near Barcelona's thoroughfare (Mirror.co.uk)

While the Spanish police search remains open and ongoing, the case has reportedly been suspended in the courts. An insider told The Sun: "The legal proceedings being led by Barcelona’s Court of Instruction Number Seven have been provisionally archived."

While the court investigation has been suspended, it can still be reopened at any time if new evidence emerges. Another source explained: "The suspension is a form of protection against the deadlines that exist in these sorts of cases where they eventually have to be closed for good," they said.

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"As things stand at the moment the court investigation can be reopened if relevant new information comes to light." Levi appeared on X Factor in 2019 as part of the group Try Star, while also playing rugby for Bath. His sudden disappearance - after leaving friends to travel by boat - has led to several theories, with his mum previously stating her belief that he was being blackmailed.

He appeared on X Factor in 2019 as part of the group Try Star (S Meddle/ITV/REX)

Levi playing for Bath during the Premiership Rugby Cup (CameraSport via Getty Images)

Levi posted a video prior to going missing claiming he was a target after being snapped in "compromising positions". Spanish cops claimed in February that he had "not gone missing voluntarily", but then told Ms Davies he had likely drowned. Levi's mum said he was recovering from a ligament injury and was feeling down when he travelled abroad to "clear his head".

After arriving at the port in Barcelona following a four-hour ferry ride he was seen leaving The Old Irish Pub on CCTV, with police saying there were subsequent sightings at the Hard Rock Cafe, a few minutes away. An Instagram story emerged in February - posted four days before he disappeared.

The video, which was saved by a friend, opened with: "My name is Levi Davis and my life is in danger." He then spent 15 minutes talking about being blackmailed by unknown people who had taken pictures of him in “compromising positions”, claiming his life and his family’s life were under threat.

Reports that Levi owed £100,000 also emerged in Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia. Levi's mum, Ms Davies, previously said she "won't ever give up hope". She added: “I don’t want to believe it and I won’t believe it until the police say, ‘Here’s the body’.”

Katie Weston