England fan goes missing on the way to the World Cup after losing contact with family during stop-over in Spain

By OLIVIA DAY, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR, AUSTRALIA Published: 13:06, 30 June 2026 | Updated: 13:27, 30 June 2026 An England fan has vanished on the way to the World Cup after losing contact with his family during his layover in Spain. Michael Hewitt, known to friends as 'Little Mick', was heading to Boston to watch the Three Lions play when he suddenly lost contact with his loved ones.  He departed Leeds on June 20 and was due to fly to the United States via Barcelona in order to watch the match against Ghana on June 23.  But his worried family say he appears to have never reached his final destination. His phone is now out of service and his social media accounts remain untouched.  Mick's loved ones said they last heard from him during the early hours of June 21, and that it remains unknown whether he travelled beyond Spain.  His brother, Gary Hewitt, said his family felt 'helpless' as the search continued.  'We got in touch with the last bar we knew Mick attended in Barcelona, the manager remembers him and stored the CCTV,' he told the BBC.  Michael Hewitt, known to friends as 'Little Mick', was heading to Boston to watch the Three Lions play when he suddenly lost contact with his loved ones His phone is now out of service and his social media accounts remain untouched 'It's so worrying, and we feel so helpless being potentially thousands of miles away. There are so many uncertainties.' He said Mick made a last-minute decision to attend the match and did not share exhaustive details of his flights or accommodation.  Gary said his brother, a dedicated Leeds United fan, was an experienced traveller who had travelled overseas for matches for decades.  He said Mick's most recent Facebook post was a photo taken in Barcelona.  Gary, along with other family members, shared an urgent public appeal for information on Facebook on Monday.   'On Saturday 20th June, Mick left Leeds, heading to Boston, USA for one of England's World Cup group games, travelling via Barcelona,' it said.  'He doesn't seem to have made it to Boston, and our last contact with him was from Barcelona in the early hours of Sunday morning, 21st June.  'Since then, his phone has been out of service and he hasn't posted any updates on social media. As you can imagine, we are now very worried for his safety. 'If anyone has seen Mick since Sunday 21st June, or had any contact with him since then, please could you let ourselves or the FCDO know? Michael's brother said the dedicated Leeds United fan (right) would be a familiar face to many across the world, having followed the club to home and away games for decades 'Please share Mick's photo. We need to get him home.' The family have reported Michael missing to West Yorkshire Police, with officers visiting his home in Adel, west Leeds, to confirm he had not returned home.  A case has been opened with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office with reference number 02470905.  Interpol, the world's largest international police network, has also been alerted as the family try to establish whether he travelled beyond Spain.  Spanish police and the British consulate are offering assistance.   No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.