2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Siobhan McNally, Mathew Davies)
For two harrowing years, Julie Davis has been living every mother's worst nightmare, waking up each day not knowing whether her missing son is dead or alive. Her son, Levi Davis, 24, a star of rugby union, disappeared on October 29, 2022, leaving his mum in a terrifying state of uncertainty. Julie expresses: "It feels worse than a bereavement.
When someone's missing, you are constantly grieving. But I will never give up hope of finding Levi alive." The last conversation she ever had with Levi replays endlessly in Julie's mind.
He had just landed in Barcelona and had phoned to tell her he was out of money and needed £30 for a hotel. Julie had reprimanded him for not heeding her advice about travelling without saving enough for the trip. The next time she tried to reach him, there was only silence.
She hasn't heard from him since, reports the Mirror . Julie recalls: "He phoned and said, 'Mum, can you send £30?' But I said, 'Look, Levi, you know I've been supporting you more than enough over the past number of months. You've got to learn to stand on your own two feet'.
" She later sent a text asking if he had managed to get the money for the hotel. Julie shares: "There was no reply." Like the families of the 170,000 people who go missing in the UK each year, including 75,000 children, Julie, 53, from Solihull, West Midlands, is battling to find answers about what happened to her son.
While some missing person cases gain significant attention, many remain largely unnoticed. The Mirror has launched its Missed campaign to help individuals like Julie bring renewed focus to their cases. Rugby star Levi, a former winger for Bath and participant in The X Factor: Celebrity in 2019 as part of the group Try Star alongside fellow players Thom Evans and Ben Foden, was last seen on CCTV exiting The Old Irish Pub on La Rambla around 10pm.
Pub staff reported he had only consumed one or two drinks. Levi, who had run out of funds, was requesting £30 from friends and family for a hotel stay. His last known contact was a WhatsApp message sent to a friend after midnight.
Levi had embarked on his travels after a severe knee injury rendered him unable to continue playing rugby. He had contemplated leaving the sport to pursue his other passion, music. Julie, a mother of six, shares: "Levi wanted to travel Europe because of his anterior cruciate ligament tear.
He'd been in Ibiza for a couple of weeks to work on music, and he said he planned to stay at a hotel in Barcelona overnight before going to his next destination, which was left open. But he had run out of funding." The morning following Levi's disappearance, passengers on a nearby cruise ship close to Barcelona's port reported spotting a man in the water.
Julie adds: "It was dark at the time and this person had a white T-shirt on, which we know Levi did. "Whoever saw him in the water said he looked to have been dark-skinned and aged around 30." Spanish police initiated a search but later halted it when no one from the boat was reported missing.
They concluded that Levi had drowned. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby However, Julie contends: "They left so many questions unanswered. They said his phone last pinged by an underground station near to the port.
"What was he doing there at half past six in the morning?" His passport was discovered a week later in the cargo area of the port. His bank account has remained untouched. Catalan Police assured Julie that all her inquiries would be addressed in their report.
She recounts: "When it finally arrived last year, half of it was in Spanish and half in Catalan, so we had to get it translated all 250 pages of it." The police now advise she must engage a lawyer to pose further questions. Julie explains: "We're now crowdfunding to find a solicitor.
The cheapest one we've been quoted is £5k, and this is for preliminary work. As far as the UK police are concerned, we've just been totally forgotten." Levi, who had openly discussed his bisexuality, had previously fallen prey to a "sextortion" scheme before his disappearance, but Julie suspects a connection between the two incidents.
She reveals that Levi was assaulted and the incident was recorded, which led to him uploading a video expressing fear for his life. Julie revealed: "The blackmail video was a while before he went missing around the time of X Factor. I think he innocently got drawn into something.
" She learned of the harrowing situation through her eldest son, Nathan, who told her: "Levi had confided in Nathan that he had been drug raped and photographs had been taken and he was being blackmailed." Recalling the abhorrent threats made to her son, she said: "They told him, 'We've got this on camera and we're gonna do XYZ to your family if you don't pay'." Further distressing details were disclosed as Julie remembered Nathan's words: "Nathan said to me, 'Mama, I've got something to say and it's not gonna sound very nice'.
He said Levi found himself sort of chained to a chair with his feet in a bowl of water, attached to some kind of electricity." Despite the separation when Levi moved in with foster parents at the age of seven, he remained tightly knit with his family. Julie reflected: "Sometimes I look back and think, 'was that the right thing to do?' I just wanted to protect my child, but the poor boy didn't know what was happening to him.
" She fondly recalled Levi's strong bond with his family, saying: "Levi missed us so much. Aged eight, he made his way back from Aston in Birmingham all the way to Chelmsley Wood. He said he walked a lot of it and then got a taxi the rest just to be with his mum and brothers.
" Shortly after settling into a home with foster mum Suzanne, he secured a sports scholarship at Denstone College, a private boarding school in Staffordshire. He then went on to attend university in Bath, where he also played for the Bath Rugby Academy. Julie still struggles with Levi's disappearance, and according to her, the Spanish police have acknowledged that they have no new leads.
West Midlands Police state: "The investigation is being run by the Spanish authorities, and we are supporting it when required. Our thoughts remain with Levi's family and we will continue to provide them with any updates from the Spanish authorities as their investigation continues.".
