A British schoolboy vanished without a trace a month ago after telling his brother he was leaving early for school – secretly boarding a one-way flight to Malaysia.
David Balisong, 17, from Cheadle, Greater Manchester, was midway through his A-level exams when he left home on June 6 and flew alone to Kuala Lumpur without telling anyone.
David, a model student who hopes to study computer science at Manchester University and dreams of working for NASA, has switched off his phone and is not responding to emails.
His heartbroken mother Minerva, 50, a critical care nurse, told MailOnline she is clinging to hope that David is still alive and begged him to let her know he is safe.
She said: ‘The emotion feels like a tsunami, we never saw any sign of this coming. We just woke up and the next thing our son was gone.
‘We just want him to make contact and to know we’re not angry with him, we love him and care for him more than he knows.
‘We can’t wait to hear from him or see him. We won’t ask him to come back to the UK if he doesn’t want to but we just need to know he’s safe.’
When he left the UK a month ago, he had just £1,200 in his bank account. He was born in the UK to Filipino parents but has no known links to Malaysia.
The family raised the alarm after he failed to return home from college on the evening of Friday, June 6, and discovered he had taken his passport.
The following evening, police confirmed he had left alone on a flight from Manchester Airport and had been granted a 90-day visa upon arrival at Kuala Lumpur airport.
Mrs Balisong said she, David’s father Lorenzo, 55, sister Faith, 16, and brother Daniel, 13, were all in total shock at his disappearance and could not think of a reason why he chose to leave.
She said: ‘He is healthy and happy and nothing was wrong that we knew of.
‘He is an ideal student and an ideal son, everybody is just shocked, he is a homebody and always comes home.
‘He’s never not come home before. When he does go out he asks permission and keeps us updated.
‘He was in the middle of his A-level exams and was possibly a bit stressed but no more than any student.
‘We thought he had gone to school because his exams were ongoing, he was on study leave and that whole time he had been leaving the house. That Friday he did leave a little bit early, maybe at 6.30am, and we know his flight was at 9.30am.
‘His younger brother asked why he was leaving early and he said “I’ve just got some stuff to do at school” and left.
‘My husband works a night shift at the hospital and little did we know while we were asleep he had boarded the plane.’
His parents have launched a GoFundMe appeal to help them fly to Kuala Lumpur to join the search.
David’s aunt Tess Fulgencio also took to Facebook to post: ‘These have been the longest and hardest days our family has ever known — filled with waiting, searching, and holding on to hope.
‘To the Stockport Police – GMP – thank you for your tireless efforts and commitment to bringing David home. We see your dedication. We know you are working around the clock. Please know that your work means everything to us, even when words fall short.’
Police urged anyone who may know David, his movements or anything else that could help the investigation to contact them on 101, quoting log number 3703 of 06/06/2025.
