This England soccer fan’s family was worried sick about his well-being, all while the “missing” man was having the absolute time of his life.
Michael Hewitt, who considers himself a very proud England and Leeds United fan, had not been heard from for 10 days. The 65-year-old who had left his home on June 21 was supposed to fly across the pond to Boston, Massachusetts to watch his favorite team – England – play Ghana on June 23.
He was last known to be in Barcelona, and had plans to fly from there to Boston to catch the England game. He never made it to the United States for the game, and even more concerning, his family and friends didn’t hear from for another 8 or so days after he missed the England-Ghana game.
That understandably started to sound the alarms for those that are close to him.
So the search was on for Michael Hewitt, who is also called “Little Mick” by his friends and family. Because he was last known to be in Barcelona, the Hewitt family reached out to Spanish police for help, and they were able to confirm that Michael’s passport had never been scanned to go into the United States. They also made sure that he hadn’t returned to his home in Adel, Leeds.
Michael’s brother, Gary, put out this post on Facebook asking everyone in the area for help:
His last known whereabout was a bar in Barcelona, where the owner of the establishment said Michael appeared to be doing well, and was having fun. Hewitt even posted pictures to Facebook from the bar, but sometime shortly afterwards, he lost his phone. That unfortunately made him unable to contact his loved ones, and losing his device also meant losing his digital plane tickets.
Instead of trying to find his phone again, or contact anyone he knows to update them… Michael Hewitt apparently just stayed in Barcelona and bounced around different bars, and watched England games with other World Cup fans. He still had his passport and his money, so he just decided to disappear for a while and enjoy himself.
Obviously, it would have been nice for “Little Mick” to let his family know the change of plans. But can you blame a guy for wanting some peace and quiet? He lost his phone, and instead of panicking, he embraced it. His travel to the states turned into a vacation in Barcelona, and his brother – Gary – posted to Facebook after he was found safe that Michael was “blissfully unaware” that anyone had been looking for im:
“Fantastic news! Little Mick is safe and well in Barcelona, and was blissfully unaware that the world was searching for him! As a family, we desperately wanted an embarrassingly simple but happy ending to this horrendous episode, and we now have that.
I’ll explain shortly, once all the authorities are notified and a degree of normality returns. A million thanks to each and every person who has helped to bring Mick home safely, and for all the good wishes. It’s amazing what can be achieved when the good people of the world go Marching on Together.”
Sports fans are the best. Michael Hewitt was so focused on the World Cup that, when his plans fell through and somewhat of a disaster struck, he brushed it off, drank beer, and watched soccer right where his feet were. It’s great that he was found safe, there’s no doubt about that. But I’m glad he got some time to himself for the week or so that he was “missing.”
Funny that while everyone else assumed him to be missing, Little Mick was right where he wanted to be.
