Authorities have launched a desperate hunt for a missing Briton who vanished in the Sardinian countryside on Saturday.
Michael, 25, was reported missing on Sunday afternoon as firefighters and the Forest Guard began a frantic search near Luogosanto, his mother Cristina Pittalis said in a plea on Sunday.
She urged that while authorities are ‘stepping up their search’ the area is ‘too wide’ to scour on their own, and called on the public to check their land and homes.
‘He is a very sweet boy, you can approach him without fear, please, if you see him stop him, talk to him, but don’t leave him alone,’ Ms Pittalis said.
She described her son a 5ft 7″ with long, brown hair and shaved sides – fearing he had disappeared into the countryside, confused and with no possessions, late Friday afternoon.
Michael’s mother shared a picture of him taken last week in a plea for help in local searchesÂ
Michael vanished on the island of Sardinia on Saturday, before police were informed Sunday
Michael is believed to have disappeared near Luogosanto in Valdicorru on Saturday at 5:18pm after stripping himself of belongings.
‘He is confused, thinner than in the photos,’ his mother said in her desperate appeal for help.
She said that the photo of Michael on a beach – pictured above – was taken only last week, ‘so very current’.Â
Ms Pittalis called on locals to assist in her search as she prepares to travel from England to Sardinia to help search efforts.
She said that police were alerted to Michael’s disappearance at 1pm on Sunday, but that now ‘your help is crucial’.
‘If you get a chance, please go and help with the [investigation],’ she wrote on Facebook.
‘But don’t go alone, blindly… talk to fire groups, or civil protection, offer your support, ask what and how you can help.’
Firefighters and the Forest Guard are currently ‘doing their best’ to help find Michael.Â
Michael was one of three people who have been missing since Sunday in northern Sardinia, Italian media has reported.
An elderly Italian tourist also disappeared on holiday in Valledoria, and an elderly woman vanished in Stintino.
The missing tourist in Valledoria was identified only as a tourist with health problems, holidaying in the region.
The tourist in Stintino was identified as Carla Visentin when her family alerted authorities.
She was reported to have disappeared from the area of Cala Lupo on Sunday.
She also has health problems and moves with difficulty, according to local media.Â
Authorities have been engaged in a ‘non-stop’ search for the three missing people since Sunday evening, La Repubblica reported.Â
The investigations stretch police resources with temperatures rising across the continent.
Greece was most recently hit by a spate of tragic disappearances, with Petros Vassilakis, the police spokesman for the Southern Aegean, claiming there was a ‘common pattern’ of tourists going for a walk amid high temperatures.
By June 26 it was reported six people had been found dead from heat-related incidents, with authorities urging caution in the heat wave.
Michael went missing in northern Sardinia on Saturday before authorities began searches
Michael’s mother said that police were alerted to Michael’s disappearance at 1pm on Sunday, but that now ‘your help is crucial’
Daily Mail columnist Michael Mosley was found dead on the island of Symi, another Aegean islands, on June 9 after a four-day search operation by land, sea and air.
He had taken a walk alone in high temperatures before going missing.
And authorities investigating the disappearance of Briton Jay Slater, 19, today recovered the remains of a body on Tenerife, nearly a month since his disappearance.
Although Spanish police are awaiting full identification, they say that ‘everything is pointing to it being’ Jay, who they said could have ‘suffered an accident or fall in the inaccessible area where he was found’.Â
Despite concerns about the weather, most missing people are found or return within the first few days of going missing, according to the Metropolitan Police.