Brit missing in Jamaica 'won't last another day' without diabetes medicine
A cancer survivor who has been missing for four days since taking a walk on holiday has become "completely delirious" and won't "last any longer", his despairing son said today.
Robert Dyer, 60, has been without vital medication for a heart complaint, type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure for days since taking a nature walk alone on Sunday morning in Ballards Valley, Jamaica two days into a retreat. He had been there to see his brother Henry, 56, and his niece.
The national army and more than 250 Ballards Valley residents have assisted emergency services in the hunt for Robert, his son Lewis said. Speaking to Mirror today, Lewis, 41, feared the worst for his dad, who is a retired fitness instructor from southeast London.
Robert Dyer is pictured with his grandson Elias weeks before he went on the trip (Supplied)Fighting the tears, Lewis, who himself has two children, said: "It is probably his last day. He has been without water for a while now, for days, and I don't think he was last any longer. So something needs to be done today, it needs sorting now.
"I've contacted fire brigades out there, all that I can find, because some of them have drone technology and thermal imaging. We need to use this and someone who can operate them.
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"At night, we are completely unable to do anything as it is such a rural area which largely doesn't have street lights so thermal imaging would be crucial. It needs to be done quickly."
Lewis Dyer (far left) is pictured with (l to r) dad Robert, mum Anne, sister Rebecca, brother Isaac, his kids Lennox and Amelie and nephew Elias (Supplied)Lewis, who is a software engineer, fears his father will have already suffered the effects of being without water for days in the hilly, forested area. When his mother Anne, 61, rang Robert on Monday morning, the dad of three was "completely delirious". His phone has since lost battery, Lewis believes.
Speaking from his home in Málaga, Spain, where he's lived for seven years, Lewis added: "During this phone call, our last contact, he spoke to my mum and at that point he said he was immobile. He said he was in what he described as a ditch but he was completely delirious at the point. He thought he was in his home, in his own bathroom. He couldn't see at all at that point, and this was due to the dehydration I think.
"Anybody without water for this amount of time will struggle. It will eat away at them and, not only this, my dad has regular medication for heart issues, type-2 diabetes and blood pressure. He has to take these every day."
The devoted grandfather of three, from southeast London, is missing and family members are worried (Supplied)Family in both southeast London, where Robert is from, and Málaga are increasingly concerned for the former personal trainer, who had hoped to spend one month with his younger brother in St Elizabeth on a long-awaited retreat.
Dad-to-two Lewis, who lived in southeast London, added: "It is absolutely tearing us apart as a family. It is insane. How can this be happening? My dad is in good shape so it's crazy."
Robert overcame prostate cancer this year and has since been doing charity work in the capital, including delivering talks to men about how to deal with and overcome cancer. His cancer was spotted last year at an advanced stage but he found the strength to beat it.
Pictured in Málaga, Robert poses with son Lewis, wife of 36 years Anne and their grandkids Lennox and Amelie (Supplied)
Concern is growing for family man Robert, a retired fitness instructor, after he vanished abroad (Supplied)The last contact Henry had with his sibling was on Sunday afternoon, before the poignant phone call Robert had with his wife Anne. Anne and Robert have been married for more than 35 years. Regarding this call, Lewis said: "They couldn't locate him after some time and he must have started to get dehydrated. When they were on the phone, he said he didn't feel good and he thought he was talking to me, or my brother, not Henry. He couldn't recognise what he could see around him, and so I think this is when the dehydration first kicked in.
"So now our priority is to get drones with thermal imaging down there, it's already been days with hundreds of people searching, we need a better way. There must be a nearby British base with drones, or even a private company willing to help. They could literally come in and save my dad."
Robert celebrates his birthday with wife Anne and his mum Rose (Supplied)Kerry Elliot-Thompson, a member of the Ballards Valley Community Development Committee, said: "It's a very sad period, and at this time, we are praying and still hopeful that he is alive.
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"The citizens are really cooperative, especially the young men in the area. They have been there since Sunday after the news broke. They have been in the woods, helping with the search. Three young men, to one of whom I am related, all went in [into the woods] late Sunday evening. While they were still in the woods, it got dark for them, so they lost their way, and they stayed there until Monday morning." Police told local media officers had "gone through miles of terrain" in the ongoing search.
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