Yahoo News What happened to Levi Davis?
Rugby player Levi Davis went missing in Barcelona on 29 October last year.
The mother of missing rugby player Levi Davis has said she doesn't "know what to believe any more" about his disappearance.
The 25-year-old former Bath player and Celebrity X Factor contestant was last seen at The Old Irish Pub in Barcelona, Spain, on 29 October.
Amid of number of theories circulating about his disappearance, it was reported last week that cruise ship staff had tried to save a man in the water from drowning off Barcelona's coast the same day Davis went missing.
A life jacket was thrown into the water but a search by police and coastguard found nothing, it was reported.
On Tuesday, Davis's mother, Julie Davis, told The Sun newspaper: "Why is this information about the cruise ship staff only coming months later?
“I don’t know what to believe any more. I know the Spanish police can be slow but I can’t make head nor tail of it.
“There’s lots of answers to questions that I need to know.
“It’s disheartening when you ask police questions and get very limited feedback."
His mother said previously that Spanish authorities said her son's phone was last registered with a phone tower at the far end of Barcelona’s commercial port, near where the cruise staff spotted a man in the water.
A statement issued by Davis's family said four staff reported seeing a man in the water near the port at 6.30am on 30 October.
The staff recalled specific details "including him asking for help in English and the colour of his clothing".
It is the latest detail in a missing person's case that has captured widespread attention.
Yahoo News UK recaps how the hunt for Davis has unfolded.
Levi Davis: Latest updates
Missing X-Factor star posted video saying his life was being threatened (Evening Standard, 2-mins, February 2023)
Missing X Factor star Levi Davis may have drowned as police share new evidence (Evening Standard, 2-mins, April 2023)
Who is Levi Davis?
Davis is a rugby union player who at the time of his disappearance was playing with the Worthing Raiders and is originally from Birmingham.
He started his career playing for Bath in 2017 and he appeared in the Premiership Rugby League.
He also took part in X-Factor: Celebrity in 2018 as part of a group called Try Star and finished fifth in the competition.
Davis was accompanied by fellow rugby union players Thom Evans and Ben Foden and in September 2022 released a single called With Me.
He had signed a record deal and gone to stay with a friend, Richard Squire, in Ibiza to work on some songs.
Squire said he dropped Davis off in Ibiza Town on 28 October and has not seen him since.
When did Levi Davis go missing?
Davis was last seen at a pub in Barcelona on 29 October – he was reported missing at the start of November.
A few days later his passport was recovered from the same port the man in the water was seen by the cruise workers.
His mother flew to Barcelona soon after to work with Catalan police and expand the investigation into her missing son.
Squire was one of the last people to speak with him and in an interview with the BBC he explained Davis had told him he was going to Barcelona.
Squire said: "So then I sent him a voice note saying, 'You’re worrying me. Please tell me where you are'."
Davis told Squire he would call when he arrived in Barcelona but he never did.
A private investigator was able to recover an Instagram video Davis deleted four days prior to his disappearance.
In it, Davis claimed he was being blackmailed by criminals who threatened to kill him and his family.
Private investigator Gavin Burrows said he released the video with the consent of Davis's family.
His firm, Line of Inquiry, is offering a £10,000 reward for information on Davis.
Missing X-Factor star posted video saying his life was being threatened (Evening Standard, 2-mins, February 2023)
Theories behind his disappearance
Since Davis went missing numerous theories have circulated online about what could have happened to him.
In March his family put out a statement asking people "refrain from printing conspiracy theories", but some of those reported in Spanish newspapers made their way into the British press.
Many theories circulated around why Davis posted the deleted Instagram video recovered by Burrows.
Davis's family in response to the reports said gang involvement was not being considered in the current investigation.
They said reports of "hearsay" have been causing "a huge amount of distress" to his family and friends and are "potentially damaging the reputation of a young man who has achieved so much in his young life".
A family statement said: "This is still a missing persons case, it is not and never has been a criminal case and there is not and never has been an imminent arrest."
'Levi, if you see this message, please, please get in touch'
Davis's mother, Julie, has made several media appearances appealing to her son to come home and to try and raise awareness about the case.
She appeared on Good Morning Britain (GMB) in November saying: "Levi if you see this message, please, please get in touch."
"I can't begin to understand how you're feeling, but just know that I do love you and our family loves you and just want you home. And to anybody else if they do see him, please get in contact."
During the interview, she said her son had mental health problems and had recently come out as bisexual.
He had also considered quitting rugby after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament which required surgery.
She said: "For him it was going from doing something to suddenly not doing a lot.
"I think given the state he was in, I think he’s probably deteriorated."
Mother of missing Levi Davis: 'Please come home' (Yahoo Celebrity UK 2-min, November 2022)
