Briton Myles Robinson disappears in Swisserland

[CherokeeKid]

Briton Myles Robinson disappears on walk back to Swiss ski hotel

December 26, 2009


Myles Robinson, above with his sister Cara, disappeared early on Tuesday. ?It?s a total mystery,? Ms Robinson said

The family of a British man who vanished in a Swiss ski resort five days ago spent Christmas Day desperately searching for him with police.

Myles Robinson, 23, disappeared after escorting a friend to her hotel in Wengen during the early hours of Tuesday. Despite a search-and-rescue operation involving the Swiss Army, sniffer dogs and helicopters with heat-seeking equipment, no trace of him has been found.

A keen sportsman, Mr Robinson had been out drinking with friends and left the Blue Monkey bar soon after 2am on Tuesday to walk the friend to her accommodation 50 yards away. He was then to have walked 200 yards to his family’s hotel. His sister Cara, 25, said: “We’ve heard nothing since then. It’s a total mystery.”

Yesterday his father, Michael, who runs a golf holiday business, said: “A body has not been found so we are trying to remain hopeful. We have searched the village again today with the police but there’s nothing. We’ve put posters up in every hotel, restaurant, shop and bar. We have looked everywhere. We don’t understand.
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“We have done an interview with the local television and appealed to farmers to look in their cowsheds, their barns, everywhere. We are asking the locals to go into their basements, spare rooms, anywhere they might not usually go.

“Today we met with the detective assigned to the case and the police took Myles’s toothbrush for DNA. My wife and I are also giving a DNA sample.”

They could not think of any reason for their son’s disappearance, he added. “He was in a bar and then walked a family friend home. We have known the family for ten years. Our children know the family well.

“They said goodbye and he apparently said he was then coming back to ours. He should have walked 200 yards back to our hotel but he didn’t. He certainly would have been drinking but he definitely wasn’t too drunk to walk home. Absolutely not.”

On Monday Myles joined his family on a Christmas break in Wengen, a car-free resort that they have visited for years and where they have an apartment in the Hotel Eiger.

When he disappeared he was wearing blue jeans, a white shirt, a dark sweater and a dark jacket. Nuno Costa, a barman at the club where Mr Robinson had been drinking, said: “This is very strange. I was with him until 1am as he drank with friends. None of them can understand how he disappeared. He was fine and seemed happy. It wasn’t snowing and was a clear night.”

His girlfriend was scheduled to fly out to Switzerland to spend the new year with him tomorrow.

A police spokesman, Marion Florie, said: “The family contacted us and we are doing everything we can to try to find him, but our searches have produced nothing so far. We have used dogs and helicopters with infra-red tracking systems.

“The weather was OK. It wasn’t a particularly cold night or snowing or anything like that.”

Mr Robinson had joined the “Wengen 09/10” Facebook group and, the day before leaving on his trip, wrote to friends: “I am leaving to go skiing. Merry Christmas!”

Mr Robinson, from Wandsworth, southwest London, went to Charterhouse before reading economics and mathematics at Newcastle University. He was due to start a new job with a financial services company in Kensington in the new year.

Before taking up his place at university he spent a year in Ghana as a football coach. He is also a keen golfer and plays water sports.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/u ... 968075.ece

[CherokeeKid]

Fears grow for British man missing in Swiss ski resort

Fears are growing for Myles Robinson, the British tourist who mysteriously vanished in the Swiss ski resort of Wengen.



Myles Robinson Photo: PA

The 23-year-old was last seen at 2am on Tuesday, when he walked a family friend back to her lodgings in the small Alpine resort. He was due to walk just 200 yards back to his hotel but never arrived.

Despite a large-scale search involving the army, police sniffer dogs and helicopters armed with heat-seeking equipment, no trace of him has been found.

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*
Intermediate skiing: learning to go off-piste in easy lessons
*
Tignes: a very French alternative to Val d'Isère
*
Tignes ski guide: introduction and basics

What should have been a happy Christmas break has turned into a nightmare for the Robinson family. His parents, Michael and Sarah, said their son had "everything to live for" and no reason to go missing.

His girlfriend was planning to fly out to Switzerland this Sunday to see in the New Year with him, and he is due to start a new job with a London financial services company on January 4.

His father said: "We have searched the village again with the police but there's nothing. We have put posters up in every hotel, restaurant, shop and bar. We have looked everywhere. We don't understand.

"It is a mystery. We are trying to remain hopeful but there's nothing.

"We have done an interview with the local television and appealed to farmers to look in their cowsheds, their barns, everywhere. We are asking the local to go into their basments, spare rooms, anywhere they might not usually go."

Describing his son's last known movements, he said: "Myles was in a bar and then walked a family friend home. We have known the family for 10 years. Our children know the family well. They said goodbye and he apparently said he was then coming back to ours. He should have walked 200 yards abck to our hotel but he didn't.

"He certainly would have been drinking but he definitely wasn't too drunk to walk home. Absolutely not."

The Robinsons have holidayed in Wengen for the past 15 years and Myles knew the area well.

The former Charterhouse pupil and Newcastle University graduate was wearing jeans, a shirt, sweater and jacket on the night of his disappearance, and the weather was relatively mild.

The resort is car-free and only accessible by train or cable car, neither of which were running in the early hours.

His sister, Cara, 25, said: "It's not like he would have got lost. We've been coming here for years. He knows his way around." A barman at the Blue Monkey, where Myles spent the evening, said he appeared "fine and happy".

Swiss police said they had "absolutely no idea" what had happened to him. A signal from his mobile phone was detected at around 5am in the southern part of Wengen.

Police spokesman Marion Florie said: "The family contacted us and we are doing everything we can to try and find him, but our searchse have produced nothing so far. We have used dogs and helicopters with infra-red tracking systems. The weather was ok. It wasn't a particularly cold night or snowing or anything like that."

Three years ago, a 21-year-old man went missing in Wengen. Daniel Baptista disappeared in Noevmber 2006 after taking the drug Mescaline and has not been seen since.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... esort.html

[CherokeeKid]

Cara Robinson (l.) bangt mit ihren Eltern um den verschwundenen Myles (2. v.r.)

Weihnachtsdrama in Wengen

Cara bangt um ihren verschwundenen Bruder

WENGEN — Seit Montag ist der 23-jährige Endländer Myles Robinson in Wengen wie vom Erdboden verschluckt. Doch seine Schwester Cara gibt die Hoffnung nicht auf, doch noch mit ihm Weihnachten zu feiern.
Von Simon Beeli | Aktualisiert um 01:01 | 26.12.2009

Es hätte wie jedes Jahr eine gemütliche Weihnachtsfeier im Kreis der Familie werden sollen. Doch dieses Jahr mag in Wengen, in der Ferienwohnung der Familie Robinson, niemand so richtig ans Feiern denken. Seit letztem Montag fehlt von Myles Robinson (23) aus London jede Spur. «Wir sind alle schrecklich traurig und vermissen Myles so sehr», erzählt seine Schwester Cara (25) am Weihnachtsabend gegenüber blick.ch.

Am Montagabend hat sie zusammen mit ihrem Bruder und ein paar Freunden in der «Blue Monkey-Bar» auf die bevorstehenden Ferien angestossen. Man freute sich auf den Skiurlaub. Als Cara gegen Mitternacht nach Hause ging, blieb Myles noch auf ein paar Drinks länger.

Kurz nach 2 Uhr früh verlässt er dann zusammen mit einer jungen Frau die Bar. Er begleitet sie noch zu ihrem Hotel und verabschiedet sich dann von ihr. Myles möchte in sein Apartment zurück, das nur etwa 200 Meter vom Hotel entfernt liegt. Doch dort ist er nie angekommen. Myles ist wie vom Erdboden verschluckt. Die grossangelegte Suchaktion der Polizei blieb bis jetzt erfolglos.

Sein spurloses Verschwinden gibt Rätsel auf: Wurde er Opfer eines Verbrechens? Ist er auf dem Nachhauseweg verunfallt? Oder einfach abgehauen?

Seine Schwester Cara kann sich keinen Reim machen: «Myles kennt sich in Wengen sehr gut aus. Ich kann mir kaum vorstellen, dass er verunfallt ist. Dass er Feinde hätte ist mir nicht bekannt, aber natürlich kann man ein Verbrechen nicht ausschliessen.»

Dass sich Myles selber das Leben genommen hätte, kommt für Cara nicht in Frage: «Myles ist ein sehr glücklicher Mensch. Er hat gerade sein Studium erfolgreich abgeschlossen und einen neuen Job bekommen.»

Umso verzweifelter ist jetzt seine Familie, mit der Myles die Feiertage hätte verbringen sollen. Die Ohnmacht, nichts machen zu können, ist kaum zu ertragen.

«Vielleicht ist Myles irgendwo eingesperrt und kann sich nicht selbst befreien», mutmasst Cara, «Man sollte in ganz Wengen alle Räume durchsuchen und schauen, ob er irgendwo gefangen ist».

Cara gibt die Hoffnung nicht auf, doch noch mit ihrem Bruder Weihnachten feiern zu können. Denn solange sie nichts anderes hört, ist sie sicher, dass Myles noch am Leben ist.

http://www.blick.ch/news/schweiz/bern/c ... der-136641

Google translation:

Christmas drama in Wengen

Cara fears for her missing brother

VALLE - Since Monday is the 23-year-old Endländer Myles Robinson in Wengen swallowed by the earth. But his sister Cara is not losing hope, but still celebrate Christmas with him.
By Simon Beeli | Updated at 01:01 | 26.12.2009

It would have been like every year, a cozy Christmas with the family should be. But this year may in Wengen, think in the apartments of the Robinson family, no one really to the celebrations. Since last Monday, lack of Myles Robinson (23) from London each track. "We are all terribly sad and miss Myles so much," said his sister Cara (25) on Christmas Eve to blick.ch.

On Monday evening she gave raise along with her brother and some friends in the "Blue Monkey Bar" at the upcoming holidays. They looked forward to a skiing holiday. When Cara came home around midnight, Myles was even longer for a few drinks.

Shortly after 2 clock early, he then leaves with a young woman to the bar, he even accompanied them to their hotel and then adopted by her. Myles wants back into his apartment, located just 200 meters from the hotel. But there he never arrived. Myles is like swallowed by the ground. The large-scale search operation of the police was far unsuccessfully.

His disappearances are a mystery: Was he a victim of crime? If he is injured in an accident on the way home? Or just cut off?

His sister, Cara can form no rhyme: "Myles knows his way around very well in Wengen. I can not imagine that he is injured in an accident. That he had enemies, I do not know, but of course we can not exclude a crime. "

The fact that Myles had himself taken his life, does not come into question for Cara: "Myles is a very happy man. He has just completed his studies successfully and get a new job. "

Now is all the more desperate his family, with whom Myles had intended to spend the holidays. The impotence of being able to do anything, is unbearable.

"It may be locked up somewhere, and Myles can not" liberate himself, Cara speculates, "One should search all the rooms throughout Wengen and see if he is trapped somewhere."

Cara has not lost hope, but being able to celebrate with her brother for Christmas. For as long as they hear nothing else, it is certain that Myles is still alive.

[CherokeeKid]

Tourist in Wengen verschwunden

Nach der Bar verliert sich die Spur: Myles Robinson (23) aus London ist seit zwei Tagen wie vom Erdboden verschluckt.
Von Hannes Heldstab, Corinne Landolt und Adrian Schulthess | Aktualisiert um 23:57 | 23.12.2009

Fällt auf: Der vermisste Myles Robinson (23) ist zwei Meter gross. (ZVG)

Sein letzter Gruss an die Freunde: «Ich reise ab zum Skifahren. Frohe Weihnachten!» Das schreibt Myles Robinson (23) am Sonntag auf seine Facebook-Seite.

Mit seiner Familie reist er aus Südlondon nach Wengen BE – wie jedes Jahr über Weihnachten. Er bewohnt ein Appartement im Hotel Eiger. «Wir sind oft hier. Er kennt sich aus», sagt seine Schwester Cara (25).

Zu dieser Zeit wimmelt es im im Skiort von vermögenden Engländern. Auch die Robinsons gehören dazu: Vater Michael ist im Golfreisen-Business tätig, Mutter Sarah war Präsidentin des British Alpine Race Ski Clubs. Myles besuchte das teure Charterhouse-Internat, studierte in Newcastle. Er ist sportlich, spielt auch Wasserball und Golf.

Kaum in Wengen angekommen, stürmt Robinson die Bars: Bei Facebook ist er Mitglied im «Wengen Drinking Team». Landet am Montagabend in der «Blue Monkey-Bar».

«Er war glücklich, es ging ihm gut», sagt Nuno Costa, ein Bekannter. Kurz nach 2 Uhr verlässt Myles die Bar: «Er begleitete eine junge Frau heim.»

Dann verliert sich die Spur.

Am Dienstagmittag gibt seine Familie eine Vermisstmeldung auf. Am Nachmittag steigen die Helikopter der Air Glacier und der Armee in die Luft. Eine Wärmebildkamera und ein Suchhund stehen im Einsatz. Auch gestern noch werden Waldgebiete und die Bahnstrecke abgesucht.

BLICK weiss: Robinsons Handy wurde zuletzt am Dienstagmorgen um 5 Uhr geortet – über die Antenne Schiltwald. Sie deckt den südlichsten Teil Wengens ab. Aber auch gefährliche Schluchten und Felskanten.

Verirrte sich Myles Robinson?

Die Ereignisse erinnern an den Fall Daniel Baptista (21) vor drei Jahren: Im November 2006 zieht er in Wengen um die Häuser, nimmt die Psycho-Droge Meskalin. Stolpert heimwärts, rennt kopfvoran in ein Schaufenster. Und wird nie wieder gesehen. Er bleibt bis heute vermisst.

Die Kantonspolizei Bern will «aus Persönlichkeitsschutz» weder Namen noch Foto des Vermissten Myles Robinson herausgeben. Bittet aber trotzdem Zeugen, sich zu melden. «Er ist zwei Meter gross und Engländer – der fällt so oder so auf», sagt Sprecher Stefan von Below.

http://www.blick.ch/news/schweiz/bern/t ... den-136573


Google Translation:

Tourist disappeared in Wengen

After the bar is lost in the track: Myles Robinson (23) from London two days ago swallowed by the earth.
By Hannes Heldstab, Corinne Landolt and Adrian Schulthess | Updated at 23:57 | 23.12.2009

Striking: The Missing Myles Robinson (23) is two meters high. (BMA)

His last greeting to the friends: "I am leaving to go skiing. Merry Christmas! "That says Myles Robinson (23) on Sunday on his Facebook page.

He and his family traveled from South London to Wengen BE - as every year over Christmas. He lives in an apartment in the Hotel Eiger. "We are often here. He knows his way around, "says his sister Cara (25).

At this time abound in the resort of wealthy Englishmen. The Robinsons, these include: Father Michael is active in the golf travel business, Sarah's mother was president of the British Alpine Ski Race Club. Myles attended the expensive Charterhouse boarding school, studied at Newcastle. He is athletic, and plays water polo and golf.

Hardly had he arrived in Wengen, Robinson stormed the bars: When Facebook he is "a member of the" Wengen Drinking Team. Landed on Monday evening in the "Blue Monkey Bar."

He was happy it went well with him, "says Nuno Costa, a friend. Shortly after 2 clock Myles leaving the bar: "He escorted home, a young woman."

Then lost the trail.

On Tuesday afternoon his family is on a people disappear. In the afternoon, climb the helicopter and the Army Air Glacier in the air. A thermal imaging camera and a search dog are in use. Also yesterday, forest areas and the railway line will be searched.

VIEW know: Robinson's cell phone has been detected recently on Tuesday morning at 5 clock - on the antenna Schiltwald. It covers the southern part of Wengen. But dangerous gullies and ledges.

Myles Robinson is gone astray?

The events are reminiscent of the case, Daniel Baptista (21) three years ago: In November 2006 he moved in Wengen at the houses, take the psycho-drug mescaline. Homeward stumbles, runs head first into a showcase. And is never seen again. He remains missing to this day.

The Bern cantonal police will publish "from personal protection" no name or photograph of the missing Myles Robinson. But nevertheless Ask witnesses to come forward. He is six feet tall and Englishmen - the fall either way up, "said spokesman Stefan von Below.
Contribute a better translation

[CherokeeKid]

blown margins

edited out by Fashionista

[CherokeeKid]

edited out by Fashionista

[CherokeeKid]

View from the Wengen Cog-Railway train station looking down on the town of Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland.

[CherokeeKid]

Tourist wird vermisst

Von Bruno Petroni. Aktualisiert am 24.12.2009


Myles Robinson ist in Wengen verschwunden: Seit Dienstag fehlt vom 23-jährigen Engländer jede Spur. Spezielle Trupps suchten sowohl auf dem Boden als auch aus der Luft nach ihm. Die Polizei bittet um Mithilfe.
Myles Robinson.

Myles Robinson.

Seit Montagnacht wird in Wengen der englische Tourist Myles Robinson vermisst. Unmittelbar nachdem die Kantonspolizei am Dienstagmittag von dessen Angehörigen Meldung erhalten hatte, wurde eine umfangreiche Fahndung mit mehreren Suchtrupps und einem Personensuchhund eingeleitet. Die lokale Air-Glaciers unternahm vor Einbruch der Dunkelheit einen halbstündigen Suchflug. In der Nacht auf Mittwoch kam zudem zwischen 23 und 1 Uhr ein Armeehelikopter mit einer «Flir-Kamera» zum Einsatz. Sie spürt eine Person selbst bei schlechtesten Wetterbedingungen mittels Körperwärme auf.

Gestern wurde das Gebiet zwischen Lauterbrunnen und Wengen weiter terrestrisch und aus der Luft abgesucht. Einsatzleiter und Kantonspolizist Werner Michel erhielt bei der Suche Unterstützung durch Bergführer und Mitglieder der Rettungsstation Lauterbrunnen und einem spezialisierten Hund. Die Suche nach dem 23-jährigen Briten verlief bis Redaktionsschluss erfolglos.

Zwei Meter grosser Mann

Der vermisste Myles Robinson ist 23 Jahre alt, zwei Meter gross und dunkelhaarig. Letztmals war der junge Mann in der Nacht auf Dienstag kurz nach 2 Uhr in der Blue Monkey Bar gesehen worden. Er trug Bluejeans, ein weisses Shirt, einen dunklen Pullover und eine dunkle Jacke. Die Kantonspolizei Bern bittet Personen, die Hinweise zum Aufenthaltsort des Vermissten geben können, sich telefonisch zu melden.

Schon 33 Vermisste

Vor knapp drei Jahren ist in Wengen letztmals ein Mensch spurlos verschwunden: Nach einer ausgiebigen Feier im «Bernerhof» sprang damals ein 21-jähriger Berner in das Schaufenster einer Boutique, worauf ein Passant Hilfe holte. Als diese eintraf, war der Mann verschwunden – und ist es auch heute noch. Im Gemeindegebiet von Lauterbrunnen gelten seit 1958 nicht weniger als 33 Menschen als vermisst. «Das sieht nach einer enorm grossen Anzahl aus», sagt der Lauterbrunner Gemeindepräsident Peter Wälchli. «Aber in der Relation gehen hier nicht mehr Menschen verloren als anderswo. Immerhin übernachten allein in Lauterbrunnen jährlich eine Million Gäste.» (Berner Zeitung)

Erstellt: 24.12.2009, 08:23 Uhr

http://www.derbund.ch/panorama/vermisch ... y/22573629


Google Translation:

Tourist is missing

Bruno Petroni. Updated 24.12.2009


Myles Robinson has disappeared in Wengen: missing since Tuesday from 23-year-old Englishman each track. Special squads searched both on the ground and from the air for him. The police asked for help.
Myles Robinson.

Myles Robinson.

Has been missing since Monday night in Wengen, the English Tourist Myles Robinson. Immediately after the Canton Police Department had received on Tuesday afternoon by his family notification, was launched an extensive investigation with several search teams and a Personensuchhund. The local Air-Glaciers made a half-hour before dark Suchflug. In addition, on Tuesday night was between 23 and 1 clock an Army helicopter with a "Flir camera" is used. You feel a person even with the worst weather conditions by means of body heat.

Yesterday, the area between Lauterbrunnen and Wengen was further terrestrially and searched from the air. Operational commander and Canton police officer Werner Michel received in finding support and guide members of the rescue station of Lauterbrunnen and a specialist dog. The search for the 23-year old Briton was not successful until their deadline.

Two meters tall man

The Missing Myles Robinson is 23 years old, six feet tall and dark-haired. The last time the young man in the night was on Tuesday shortly after 2 times clock in the Blue Monkey Bar was. He was wearing blue jeans, a white shirt, a dark sweater and a dark jacket. The Bern cantonal police asked to give people the details to the whereabouts of missing persons can register by phone.

Already 33 Missing

Almost three years ago in Wengen last man disappeared without a trace: After a long celebration jumped in "Bernerhof" then a 21-year-old Bernese in the window of a store, which a passer-by got help. When these arrived, the man was gone - and it still is. In the municipality of Lauterbrunnen considered since 1958, no fewer than 33 people as missing. "It provides for an extremely large number of," says Mayor Peter Wälchli Lauterbrunnen. "But in the relation not go into any more people died than anywhere else. After all, the night alone in Lauterbrunnen one million visitors a year. "(Berner Zeitung),

[CherokeeKid]

<img src="http://www.wengen.com/maps/mp_win750.jpg" width="30%"></img>

For larger view:

http://www.wengen.com/maps/mp_win750.jpg

[CherokeeKid]

For larger view:

edited out

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... erland.jpg

[CherokeeKid]

Update 21:13 Wengen, canton Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) –

“We think he must be here somewhere, maybe in a house,” Sarah Robinson, mother of missing British 23-year-old tourist Myles Robinson, told GenevaLunch Saturday evening 26 December. Her son disappeared in the early hours of Tuesday 22 December from the small Alpine resort of Wengen, not far from Interlaken, without a trace. The young man was at the Blue Monkey bar in the car-free resort above Lauterbrunnen, then walked an old family friend home and chatted with her for a while before heading back to his family’s place at 02:00, a 200-metre walk. It was a clear night.

Myles Robinson has not been seen or heard from since.

He was expecting his girlfriend to join the family for New Year’s and he had just been hired for a job he was looking forward to, with a financial firm in London.

Police and the family have appealed to villagers to look everywhere for the missing man. His mother says that she takes home from a tall, dark-haired cousin of Myles being asked on the streets if his name is Myles. “People are looking out.”

A police spokesperson told GenevaLunch Saturday, “We have no clues. Nothing. We called for witnesses and several people phoned, but they were mostly sightings from other villages and turned out to be false alarms.” He noted that the police can’t even say they suspect foul play because there are no clues on which to make judgements. The police investigation continues, focusing now on interviewing people around him.

Sarah Robinson says police have done a thorough job of contacting people who know her son well.

A search of the mountainside is unrealistic, given the rugged terrain – the area is famous for its cliffs, forests and some of the toughest skiing in Switzerland, including the Lauberhorn race. The police spokesperson told GenevaLunch that the Swiss Army loaned a helicopter for a flyover search of the area around the town, which turned up nothing.

But Myles Robinson was not lost while skiing: he was walking a short distance home from a bar in the centre of town at an hour when pre-Christmas revellers were still out. There is no evidence that he ever left the village, intentionally, accidentally, or through foul play.

”He doesn’t take drugs, he doesn’t smoke – he’d had a few drinks and might have been a bit tipsy but [the friend he walked home] says they talked for a while and he was fine,” Sarah Robinson says.

She is quick to say that the police “have been very good” and the family is getting help from a Swiss judge, but launching a search, for example a house to house hunt, in the town when there are no clues poses legal problems. Villagers are being asked to check every possible place, such as cellars and buildings they don’t use often.

”We know that his cell phone was still active at least at lunchtime Tuesday,” says his mother. But initial reports that it emitted a signal from the south end of Wengen have been put in perspective, given the realities of cell phones in the mountains. “We are unsure about the transmitters for Wengen and we’ve been told that, with the mountains, signals could bounce off of Murren or some other area.” Murren, Wengen and Grindelwald are three villages in the area that have long been favourites of the British, who helped develop the modern sport of downhill skiing in this area.

The Robinson family (father, mother, Myles and his sister Cara) whom the mother describes as “close”, has been coming to the resort for 15 years and Myles knows the area well. He is fit and an avid skier.

”He can’t just have disappeared without a trace!” Sarah Robinson insists. Several kinds of sniffer dogs have been used and they have not picked up any trail. Asked if they suspect he might have been pulled into a vehicle, which could explain the disappearance of his scent, she says, “It’s a car-free resort – I can’t imagine what kind of vehicle it would have been.” There are few roads down from the resort, and a vehicle leaving would most likely have been remarked by someone.

”We’re being as pro-active as we can. We’re talking to everyone we can. We want to keep this in front of the public. We’ve got to try to achieve something.”

The family is not discussing the case of Daniel Baptista, she says, “but we’re all aware of it.” Battista disappeared in 2006 from Wengen after taking mescaline, and there has been no sign of him since.

”At the end of the day, we just want to make sure we get him back. Alive, we hope.

”I’m living on hope at the moment.”

Ed. note: the disappearance of Myles has been followed closely by the UK media. Links: BBC, Daily Mirror, Daily Telegraph, Times, UK
Posted by :: Ellen Wallace on 26 December 2009 at 20:07 | permalink

http://tinyurl.com/ycblzbx

[CherokeeKid]

December 27, 2009

Family of missing Briton, Myles Robinson, beg Swiss to step up hunt

The family of a British tourist who has been missing since Tuesday after vanishing in the middle of a Swiss ski resort has called on local police to step up their search for him.

Myles Robinson, a 23-year-old graduate in economics and maths who had been due to start his first job early in the new year, disappeared after escorting a female friend to her hotel in the village of Wengen.

Despite having to walk just 200 yards down the main street back to the apartment where he was staying with his parents, Michael and Sarah, and his sister Cara, Myles failed to complete the journey.

His family, who live in Wandsworth, south London, and have visited Wengen annually for 15 years, raised the alarm the next morning. Despite a search involving helicopters, infrared scanners and bloodhounds, there has been no sign of him.
Related Links

* Briton disappears during Swiss skiing holiday

* Hunt for British tourist missing in Swiss ski resort

The most recent clue to Myles’s whereabouts is that police have traced his phone to part of Wengen at about 5am on Tuesday, some three hours after he disappeared. They have ruled out a house-to-house search, however, because there is no specific evidence of a criminal act.

Myles’s father, who runs a company that organises golf tours, said: “We have done our own searching, the family and friends; we have gone everywhere and made appeals on Swiss television to local residents to check all their homes and to farmers to check cowsheds.”

Robinson said he believed lack of manpower and strict Swiss privacy laws had made the police reluctant to search people’s homes even with their agreement.

Witnesses said Myles, a former pupil at Charterhouse school in Surrey, had not been drunk. There would have been no way for him to leave Wengen, because local trains had stopped running and the village, at the foot of the Eiger mountain, cannot be reached by road.

Michael Robinson said the family’s Christmas festivities had been postponed.

“We obviously didn’t open presents or anything so Myles’s are here, like ours, unopened,” said Michael. “Instead, we had to go down to the police station and have DNA samples taken. We just try to get through every day as best we can and try to push the police to see if there is anything they can do to do a complete house-to-house search, but it’s not easy.”

The Robinson family arrived in Wengen last Sunday and had expected to stay until January 2. “Monday was effectively our first day and we went skiing, had a family dinner and then my daughter and son went out for a drink about 11pm,” Michael Robinson said.

“My daughter returned at about 1.30am Tuesday morning and my son was still in the bar when she left. He is shown on CCTV leaving the bar at 2.19am and there was a group of them dispersing to their hotels.

“My son walked one lady to her hotel, where they chatted for about 20 minutes, and then she went into her hotel and he was, in theory, walking back to where we were. But he never arrived.

“She was just a friend and he was doing the gentlemanly thing of walking her home. His girlfriend was due to come out tomorrow and spend the new year with us so he wouldn’t have been doing anything funny.

“We woke up on Tuesday morning and he was not in his bed. Lots of possibilities go round in your mind . . . he could have decided to sleep on friends’ floors.

“We tried his mobile phone every few minutes on Tuesday morning, but there was no answer. It was ringing but we were getting his voicemail. We contacted the police about 11.30 on Tuesday.

“They sent up a helicopter to do a visual sweep and search, they got a mountain search and rescue team organised and they had an infrared camera on a helicopter from the Swiss army out here on Tuesday night. They even had a bloodhound from Bern, two hours’ drive away. I think the police did a very good job. The first 24 hours is obviously a pretty important time in these situations.

“They tracked his mobile but wouldn’t tell us the details because I think they don’t want people to go looking if they are potentially in dangerous areas.

“They said it had shown up in the south side of Wengen and that’s all they would say. It’s a complete mystery to us.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/u ... 968520.ece

[CherokeeKid]

Girlfriend's anguish over Briton lost in the Alps as CCTV footage reveals his last known movements

By Simon Mcgee
Last updated at 12:30 AM on 27th December 2009

This is the last image of the British graduate who mysteriously vanished in the Swiss Alps five days ago.

Myles Robinson, 23, is captured on CCTV leaving the Blue Monkey bar in the ski resort of Wengen at 2.19am last Tuesday, after spending the evening playing pool and drinking beer with his best friends and sister.

Just after this image was recorded – it incorrectly shows 3.19am because it is on Swiss summer time – Mr Robinson walked a female family friend to her door just 300 yards from his own apartment and has not been seen since.



Mystery: Myles Robinson, left, was captured on CCTV leaving the Blue Monkey bar on Tuesday night

He was wearing a white polo-shirt with a Stella Artois tennis logo, jeans, trainers and a black and grey coat – a gift from his girlfriend Sophie Harral for his birthday this month.


More...

* Police divers find body in hunt for missing teenager Jordan

Miss Harral, 21, who was due to join the Robinson family in Wengen today for the New Year, is said to be ‘devastated’ by his disappearance.

Despite intensive searches by Swiss Army helicopters with thermal imaging equipment, police bloodhounds, mountain rescue teams and friends with torches, police still have no leads as to what has happened to the 6ft 5in former Charterhouse
public schoolboy and Newcastle University graduate.

Miss Harral and Mr Robinson – a keen sportsman known to his friends as Robbo – met more than two years ago at Newcastle University, where she is in her fourth and final year.

He graduated with an economics and maths degree in June and was ecstatic at getting through five rounds of interviews to win a job with a financial services company in London, due to start on January 4.



Myles Robinson with girlfriend Sophie Harral, who is said to be devastated about his disappearance

Miss Harral celebrated last New Year with Mr Robinson and his family, who have rented an apartment in Wengen for New Year in each of the past 15 years.

In a touching recent exchange on social networking site Facebook, he told her and all his friends: ‘I love Sophie Harral x.’

Last night, Mr Robinson’s father Michael, 59, who runs the golfing holiday firm Destination Golf, said family and friends were perplexed at how he could have vanished between walking his friend to her chalet and his own apartment in the Hotel Eiger, less than 300 yards along the Dorfstrasse, Wengen’s main street.

He said: ‘We’re sure he’s in Wengen because the only way up and down is on the train, which stops at midnight.’

Mr Robinson’s mother Sarah, 59, said: ‘We’ve been frustrated by Swiss privacy laws. They don’t allow house searches, even though Myles could be somewhere against his will.

‘All our Christmas presents are still under the tree and we’re waiting for him to come back so we can open them together.

‘Sophie is devastated and is being protected by her family in England.’

Mr Robinson’s sister Cara, 25, who works in sports television, said: ‘We’ve distributed hundreds of posters. We’re doing everything we can and won’t give up.’

Best friend George Duckett, 23, said: ‘It’s all so weird. He’s like a brother to me and I can’t help thinking what may have happened.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -Alps.html

[CherokeeKid]

There is a fantastic panorama view of Wengen and the whole area. It also shows the southern part of Wengen with dangerous gullies and ledges:

http://www.allreaders.com/switzerland/mannlichen.asp

[resigned]

He doesn't look like he is escorting a family friend back to her hotel in that image.

[CherokeeKid]

He doesn't look like he is escorting a family friend back to her hotel in that image.

I was wondering the same.

In the above article a "group" is mentioned and maybe they waited outside of the bar, said their good-byes and departed then:

“My daughter returned at about 1.30am Tuesday morning and my son was still in the bar when she left. He is shown on CCTV leaving the bar at 2.19am and there was a group of them dispersing to their hotels.

“My son walked one lady to her hotel, where they chatted for about 20 minutes, and then she went into her hotel and he was, in theory, walking back to where we were. But he never arrived.

[CherokeeKid]

THE family of a British skier who vanished in the Swiss Alps fear he was abducted.

Myles Robinson's sister Cara wants cops to treat his disappearance as a "criminal act".

Cara, who was with Myles, 23, before he disappeared after a night out, said: "This is 100 per cent out of character. Without a doubt something strange has gone on."

Myles vanished after walking pal Amy O'Brien to her hotel at 2.20am last Tuesday in Wengen.

His room was just 200 yards away and she told pals he was "in good spirits" and "his normal self".

A friend added: "Amy is distraught to think she is the last person who saw him. She is desperately trying to think of something that might help police, anything she saw or Myles said. But it's a total mystery."

Dad Michael, 59, said Myles, who was to start a finance job in January, "definitely wasn't too drunk to walk home".

Yesterday Swiss cops temporarily called off the search for 6ft 5in Myles but "consider him to be alive".

Cara, 25, said 70 family, pals and villagers are going door-to-door in the resort asking to search people's homes for clues over his disappearance.

She said: "The police, who have been so good, said they can't search houses without applying for search warrants so we thought we would take it upon ourselves.

"We will be noting down those people who don't want to cooperate."

Myles's girlfriend Sophie Harral, 21, was due to fly to Switzerland yesterday to see in the New Year with Myles but has stayed in the UK.

Her father Anthony, of Kingsley in Cheshire, revealed she was "in bits" with worry. He added: it is just baffling. Myles has got everything to live for - he has got a fantastic job lined up in London and we cannot understand what could have happened."


THE body of Liverpool-born skier Nigel Jackson, 43, who vanished on Christmas Day, has been found under an avalanche in the French Alps.

A distraught friend said: "We are in shock. It was a freak accident."

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... inson.html

[resigned]

I was wondering the same.

In the above article a "group" is mentioned and maybe they waited outside of the bar, said their good-byes and departed then:

“My daughter returned at about 1.30am Tuesday morning and my son was still in the bar when she left. He is shown on CCTV leaving the bar at 2.19am and there was a group of them dispersing to their hotels.

“My son walked one lady to her hotel, where they chatted for about 20 minutes, and then she went into her hotel and he was, in theory, walking back to where we were. But he never arrived.

IMO -It is odd that there is little information from the last person known to have seen him - her name has not been mentioned from what I have read. She has been described as an "old family friend" - I may be wrong, but I think I read she is rather young herself -a friend of the family's daughter.
20 minutes sitting outside chatting with an old family friend after escorting her back to her hotel sounds a little hinky to me. Something is missing in that story.

eta - I just noticed the next article mention the girl by name.

[resigned]

I wonder if this is Amy - pretty common name - this one's a Swiss skier:

Lausanne - Christmas 2007





http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=2404972297

[CherokeeKid]

IMO -It is odd that there is little information from the last person known to have seen him - her name has not been mentioned from what I have read. She has been described as an "old family friend" - I may be wrong, but I think I read she is rather young herself -a friend of the family's daughter.
20 minutes sitting outside chatting with an old family friend after escorting her back to her hotel sounds a little hinky to me. Something is missing in that story.

eta - I just noticed the next article mention the girl by name.

IMO, they called that girl an "old family friend" in order to not hurt the feelings of his girlfriend who was supposed to meet him yesterday in Wengen and spend New Year's Eve with him. And maybe not to make him out as a 'womanizer', just a 'gentleman' who accompanied her back to her hotel. I don't really find it odd. She might have just be a friend.

I also find the 20 min chatting not too unusual. I, for instance, do it all the time and my husband calls it "the German way to say good-bye" as it always takes almost an additional half an hour to finally say good-bye. LOL

What caught my attention the most is the cell phone, that there was a 'signal' from it at 5 a.m. from the southern part of Wengen. I would like to hear more details about that: if he actually made a phone call and if so, whom he called. Or if someone tried to call him and if so, who? Or if a message was left. Or whatever that signal was.

The time of that cell phone signal at 5 a.m. is also curious. The left at 2.19 a.m., he talked about 20 min to that girl, that makes it about 2.40 a.m. What happened in that remaining two hours and 20 min? It's only a small village where he can not walk too long from one place to another. Did he bump into someone? And maybe they spent time together? Did some more drinking? Did something stupid like walking south to the village close to the edge where those dangerous gullies and ledges could be? And maybe he slipped in the snow and fell down there? This would explain why helicopters and an infrared camera was used?

On the other hand, someone could have just thrown the cell phone down there. Maybe he himself. The police consider him alive. In a German written article the police added: "He is 23 and can do what he wants."


ETA: Cara und ihre Eltern Michael (59) und Sarah (59) Robinson geben die Hoffnung nicht auf, Myles zu finden. Die Polizei hat die «aktive Suche» eingestellt. «Die Polizei geht davon aus, dass er noch lebt», sagt Heinz Pfeuti, Sprecher der Kantonspolizei Bern. «Er ist 23, er kann tun und lassen, was er will.»

http://www.blick.ch/news/schweiz/bern/m ... weg-136717

[CherokeeKid]

I wonder if this is Amy - pretty common name - this one's a Swiss skier:

Lausanne - Christmas 2007

snip...

Her name is Amy O'Brien. Is that the same girl in the pictures you posted?

Myles vanished after walking pal Amy O'Brien to her hotel at 2.20am last Tuesday in Wengen.

[resigned]

Her name is Amy O'Brien. Is that the same girl in the pictures you posted?

Myles vanished after walking pal Amy O'Brien to her hotel at 2.20am last Tuesday in Wengen.

I have no idea - I just googled for an Amy O' Brien & Myles Robinson and though I didn't get a direct hit on both - this came up and I thought the pictures of her skiing in Lausanne made it a worthwhile possibility.

It could very well be another Amy O'Brien too - I dunno.

[resigned]

IMO -It is odd that there is little information from the last person known to have seen him - her name has not been mentioned from what I have read. She has been described as an "old family friend" - I may be wrong, but I think I read she is rather young herself -a friend of the family's daughter.
20 minutes sitting outside chatting with an old family friend after escorting her back to her hotel sounds a little hinky to me. Something is missing in that story.

eta - I just noticed the next article mention the girl by name.

IMO, they called that girl an "old family friend" in order to not hurt the feelings of his girlfriend who was supposed to meet him yesterday in Wengen and spend New Year's Eve with him. And maybe not to make him out as a 'womanizer', just a 'gentleman' who accompanied her back to her hotel. I don't really find it odd. She might have just be a friend.

I also find the 20 min chatting not too unusual. I, for instance, do it all the time and my husband calls it "the German way to say good-bye" as it always takes almost an additional half an hour to finally say good-bye. LOL

What caught my attention the most is the cell phone, that there was a 'signal' from it at 5 a.m. from the southern part of Wengen. I would like to hear more details about that: if he actually made a phone call and if so, whom he called. Or if someone tried to call him and if so, who? Or if a message was left. Or whatever that signal was.

The time of that cell phone signal at 5 a.m. is also curious. The left at 2.19 a.m., he talked about 20 min to that girl, that makes it about 2.40 a.m. What happened in that remaining two hours and 20 min? It's only a small village where he can not walk too long from one place to another. Did he bump into someone? And maybe they spent time together? Did some more drinking? Did something stupid like walking south to the village close to the edge where those dangerous gullies and ledges could be? And maybe he slipped in the snow and fell down there? This would explain why helicopters and an infrared camera was used?

On the other hand, someone could have just thrown the cell phone down there. Maybe he himself. The police consider him alive. In a German written article the police added: "He is 23 and can do what he wants."


ETA: Cara und ihre Eltern Michael (59) und Sarah (59) Robinson geben die Hoffnung nicht auf, Myles zu finden. Die Polizei hat die «aktive Suche» eingestellt. «Die Polizei geht davon aus, dass er noch lebt», sagt Heinz Pfeuti, Sprecher der Kantonspolizei Bern. «Er ist 23, er kann tun und lassen, was er will.»

http://www.blick.ch/news/schweiz/bern/m ... weg-136717

I'd would like to know:

Was anyone awake when Amy got home?
What time was it?
Who was Myles actually staying with?
Did he stay out that late everynight?
If he was just escorting a family friend back to her hotel, 200 yards away, then was anyone curious when he didn't come return to their hotel shortly after?
When did they first try to reach him on his cell?

If he just gentlemanly walked anyone home (no matter who) - there is no reason to sugarcoat, IMO Seems there would be more reason to call Amy an old family friend if there was a flirtation or something.

[CherokeeKid]

Leiche in Wengen gefunden!
Ist es der vermisste Myles (23)?

WENGEN BE – Die Feuerwehr hat einen grauenhaften Fund gemacht: In einem Weiler lag eine Leiche. Ist es der verschwundene Myles Robinson?

Aktualisiert um 20:04 | 28.12.2009

Der Tote lag in einem Waldstück bei der Gemeinde Lauterbrunnen. Noch ist unklar, ob es sich um den seit fast einer Woche in Wengen vermissten Myles Robinson (23) handelt.

Kapo-Sprecherin Ursula Stauffer bestätigte entsprechende Berichte von TeleBärn und der Sendung «Schweiz aktuell» des Schweizer Fernsehens. Angaben zu Alter und Geschlecht der toten Person konnte Stauffer vorerst nicht machen. Zuerst müsse die Leiche identifiziert werden.

Zur Frage, ob es sich allenfalls um einen vermissten englischen Touristen handeln könnte, gab die Polizeisprecherin keine Auskunft.

Robinson war vor sechs Tagen spurlos aus Wengen verschwunden. Eltern und Freunde des Vermissten suchen seit Tagen nach dem jungen Mann (Blick.ch berichtete).

Überwachungskameras filmten den 23-Jährigen noch, als er nach Mitternacht in Begleitung einer Freundin eine Bar verliess (siehe Video).

Der Brite brachte die Kollegin noch in ihr Hotel, dann machte er sich auf den Weg in seine Unterkunft. Doch auf den 200 Metern ins Hotel «Eiger» verschwand der junge Mann. (gux)

http://www.blick.ch/news/schweiz/bern/i ... -23-136785


Google Translation:

corpse found in Wengen!
Is it the missing Myles (23)?

WENGEN BE - The fire department has made a gruesome discovery: In a hamlet lying a corpse. Is it the missing Myles Robinson?

Updated at 20:04 | 28.12.2009

The dead man was lying in a wooded area near the town of Lauterbrunnen. It is still unclear whether it is the for nearly a week in Wengen missing Myles Robinson (is 23).

Kapo spokeswoman Ursula Stauffer confirmed TeleBärn and relevant reports from the show "Switzerland currently" the Swiss television. Information on age and sex of the dead person could not make the time being Stauffer. First, the body must be identified.

As to whether it could possibly be an English tourist missing, the police spokeswoman gave no information.

Robinson had disappeared six days ago from Wengen. Parents and friends of missing people are looking for days after the young man (Blick.ch reported).

Surveillance cameras filmed the 23-year-olds even when he left after midnight, accompanied by a friend, a bar (see video).

The Briton took the colleague still in her hotel, then made his way to his quarters. But in the 200 meters to the hotel "Eiger" disappeared into the young man (gux)


This does not look good!

[CherokeeKid]

Engländer tot aufgefunden?

Aktualisiert am 28.12.2009

In Lauterbrunnen im Berner Oberland wurde eine männliche Leiche gefunden. Dabei könnte es sich um den seit fast einer Woche vermissten englischen Touristen handeln.

In der Berner Oberländer Gemeinde Lauterbrunnen ist am Montagnachmittag ein toter Mann aufgefunden worden. Ob es sich um den seit fast einer Woche in Wengen vermissten 23-jährigen Touristen aus England handelt, war zunächst nicht klar, wie eine Sprecherin der Berner Kantonspolizei zu einer Information von Telebärn sagte.

Der Polizei war am vergangenen Dienstag gemeldet worden, dass ein englischer Tourist in Wengen, das zur Gemeinde Lauterbrunnen gehört, vermisst wird. Letztmals war Myles Robinson in der Nacht auf den Dienstag in einer Bar gesehen worden.

Nach der Vermisstmeldung wurde eine umfangreiche Suche eingeleitet, bei der auch ein Hund und Helikopter mit einer Wärmebildkamera eingesetzt wurden.

Leiche noch nicht identifiziert

Nachdem auch die private Suchaktion vom Sonntag erfolglos blieb, wollten die Eltern einen Anwalt einschalten, um eine erneute offizielle Suchaktion zu starten. In deren Rahmen hätten auch Häuser durchsucht werden sollen, so die Mutter des Vermissten gegenüber Telebärn. Dies würde sich erübrigen, wenn es sich beim Toten um den Vermissten handelt.

Die Polizei hat weitere Auskünfte in Aussicht gestellt. Sie will informieren, sobald die Leiche identifiziert ist. Dies soll frühestens Dienstag der Fall sein.

http://www.bernerzeitung.ch/region/thun ... y/11322137


Google Translation:


English dead?

Updated 28.12.2009

In Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland is a male body was found. This could either be the English tourist missing for almost a week.

In the Bernese Oberland Lauterbrunnen Municipality on Monday afternoon, a man was found dead. Whether it is the for nearly a week in Wengen missing 23-year tourists are from England, was not immediately clear how a spokeswoman said the Bern cantonal police to information from Telebärn.

The police had been reported last Tuesday that a British tourist in Wengen, belongs to the municipality of Lauterbrunnen is missing. Myles Robinson was the last time in the night of Tuesday was seen in a bar.

People disappear after an extensive search was launched when a dog and helicopters were used with a thermal imaging camera.

Funeral not yet identified

After the private search party on Sunday was unsuccessful, parents wanted to employ an attorney to start a new search operation to official. Under which also houses had to be searched, the mother of the missing persons to Telebärn. This would not be necessary if it is the dead man was the missing man.

The police have put more information in view. She wants to know when the body is identified. This should be no earlier than Tuesday of the case.