Search Continues for Missing British Journalist Michael Dixon; Family Raises Concern Over Accuracy of Last Reported Sighting on October 19

TAMARINDO, Costa Rica, November 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The family of missing British journalist, Michael Dixon, continues to search for him following his disappearance in Costa Rica. Michael was reported missing over two weeks ago in Tamarindo, Guanacaste, where he was on holiday.

Costa Rica is a popular holiday destination for millions of tourists each year and this industry sector yielded USD 1.9 billion in foreign currency in 2007. Despite its reputation of being a relatively safe country in Central American terms, Michael's disappearance is the latest in a string of incidents in the Guanacaste region. According to the local newspaper, A.M. Costa Rica, David Gimelfarb from the USA went missing there in August this year and Craig Snell, a US expatriate, disappeared in February 2009.

Michael's disappearance has been widely reported in the Costa Rican press and the international media - including the BBC, Sky News, La Nación and PR Newswire. A Facebook group set up to help find Michael now has over 1,500 members: Help Find Michael Dixon

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=165326214690#/groups/edit.php?members&gid=165326214690

Group members have successfully alerted the media to Michael's disappearance and gained valuable support from locals in Tamarindo, who are distributing flyers in the town.

    
    Timeline so far:

    - 18 October: Michael checks into the Villas Macondo at 3 pm
    - 19 October: Michael is reportedly seen leaving his hotel in the
                  early morning
    - 21 October: Hotel calls local police to tell them Michael is
                  missing and checks the local hospitals
    - 21 October: Foreign Office receives report from the hotel that
                  Michael is missing
    - 26 October: Michael's family and colleagues become concerned
                  after he fails to turn up for work. Colleagues gain access 
                  to Michael's email and find a message in his mailbox dated 
                  21 October from the Villas Macondo hotel, expressing 
                  concern that Michael has disappeared
    - 26 October: Police search Michael's hotel room and find the
                  majority of his belongings intact
    - 29 October: Members of Michael's family start to arrive in Costa Rica
    - 31 October: Searches begin by boat and plane

Many different unconfirmed theories are being put forward about Michael's whereabouts, but his family members are keeping an open mind, especially since concerns have been raised over the accuracy of the October 19 morning sighting. As a result, Michael's family is anxious to find out about his movements on the evening of Sunday 18th October.

David Dixon, Michael's brother, commented, "We are working with Costa Rican authorities, the British Foreign Office and the Red Cross to find Michael, but we would appreciate information from local people in Tamarindo who may have seen him in the town, especially on Sunday 18th October or Monday 19th October."

Anybody with information is asked to contact the numbers below. All calls will be treated confidentially.

Scott Simpson - (+506)8896-4120

OIJ - (+506)8865-7629 OR (+506)2681-4062

Hotline - (+507)836-5065

Email: findmichaeldixon@gmail.com

Donations to help with the search can be made online at this link: http://fundraisers.everyclick.com/info.xq?id=1131350&fundraiser-name=Lucie-Blackman-Trust&tb=1

(Due to the length of these URLs, it may be necessary to copy and paste the hyperlinks into your Internet browser's URL address field. Remove the space if one exists.)

About Michael Dixon:

Michael is a 33-year-old male, based in Brussels, Belgium. He was born in Salford, England and grew up in France. His height is approximately 1.70 m and he weighs around 65 kg. Michael is of slender build, with black short hair that is balding. His eyes are light brown and his shoe size is 6 (European 39). He speaks fluent English and French and has limited Spanish language skills.

    
    Press contacts:

    Clive Stephenson - +1-912-492-6485
    David Dixon - +44-79-207-922-04