Hunt for wife and daughters who may hold key to capture of man wanted for £850k romance scam

Police are searching for the wife and daughters of Britain's most wanted fugitives, hoping they hold the key to his capture.

Mark Acklom, 44, who is alleged to have fleeced a divorcee out of £850,000 in life savings in a romance scam, was last spotted in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 10.

He allegedly left Carolyn Woods financially and emotionally devastated after promising to marry her, after reportedly posing as an MI6 agent and convincing her into "lending" him her savings after a year-long courtship in Bath, Somerset.

They met when the former public schoolboy walked into her boutique in Gloucestershire to buy a jacket and began chatting her up.

Avon and Somerset police has put out an appeal, asking if anyone has seen his wife and daughters, as the force believes he may be with them.

The force has said it is searching for Maria Yolanda Ros Rodriguez, 47, and their two daughters, aged six and eight.

His wife is also known to use aliases including Yolianda Ross, Maria Long and Mary Moss, and said she may be working as a yoga teacher or attending yoga classes.

Detective Inspector Adam Bunting said: "Mark Acklom is a convincing fraudster and we're working hard to locate him as soon as possible.

"We believe he'll be with his wife, Maria Rodriguez, and their two young daughters, who we know, up until last year's appeal, were enrolled in El Limonar International School in the Murcia area of Spain.

"In the days following the appeal he removed his children from the school and, together with his wife, he disappeared.

"We have significant concerns about the children's well-being given they were uprooted, with no notice, from their school, friends and family. It's highly likely Acklom will have placed his children in another fee-paying school."

Police are appealing to the families of children in international fee-paying schools, asking if they have noticed their recent arrival from Spain.

Ackolm, last seen in Switzerland, was believed to be at large in Spain last year after being released from prison over as £200,000 property fraud. A European Arrest Warrant was issued for him last year.

Mr Bunting said: "Mark Acklom has links through property to Spain and there's been a positive sighting in Switzerland. We also have information linking him to Dublin and Italy, but he could be anywhere in Europe. It's possible he may have travelled outside the EU.

"He's described as 5ft 10in, of medium build, with dark brown hair and green eyes.

"We're grateful for the ongoing support of the National Crime Agency and our law enforcement colleagues in Europe but we need the help of the media and the public in the UK and Europe to track him down."

Acklom is an accomplished scammer, and first received a custodial sentence for his actions at age 16, in 1991, when he  1991 received a four-year sentence for a £466,000 mortgage fraud after he posed as a City stockbroker.

He also spent £11,000 after stealing his father's credit card, swindled a former teacher out of £13,000 and ran up a £34,000 bill with a private charter jet company.

If you see Mark Acklom please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or use their non-traceable anonymous online form via http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org .