Police have launched a fresh appeal to find a sailor who vanished in his boat while off the Cornish coast, as fears for his safety grow.
Guy Nelson, 57, from Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, was last known to be sailing near Drake’s Island on September 8 – around three weeks ago.
The 6.5-acre land mass, which sits in the stretch of water known as Plymouth Sound, around 500m off the coast of Plymouth, Devon, is privately owned and uninhabited.
The seaman was last seen on CCTV just three days earlier, on September 5, in the quiet inland village of St Dominic in nearby Cornwall.
It is thought he had set off on a tour of the Cornish and Devon coasts in his boat, called Swallow, from Plymouth.
But the boater has no other known links to the area, with his home more than 200 miles away from this launching point.
Devon and Cornwall Police has now released another image of him, taken in St Dominic on September 5, in a renewed bid to bring the disappeared sailor home.
He is seen in this picture wearing sunglasses, a blue and white checked shirt, black shorts and navy crocs.
Mr Nelson has been described by officers as a white male who is 5ft 10ins tall and of medium build, with short curly brown hair and brown eyes.
He often wears glasses, a black T-shirt and jeans.
It comes after the force distributed another image of the seaman which shows him with a dark beard and moustache.
A police spokesperson said: ‘We continue to be concerned for the welfare of 57-year-old Guy Nelson and are issuing a more recent picture of him.
‘Guy, from Leamington Spa, was last known to be in or around the Drake’s Island area of Plymouth on Monday, September 8.
‘Guy had been sailing around Cornwall and Devon on his boat named Swallow and it is believed it was Guy’s intention to sail from Plymouth along the coast, but he has not been heard from since.
‘He had previously been in St Dominic in Cornwall, where the new picture was taken on Friday, September 5.
‘Guy has no known links to Devon and Cornwall other than sailing in the area.’
Drake’s Island was closed to the public for more than 30 years before it was bought in 2019 by former Royal Navy engineer and local businessman Morgan Phillips.
The island – a scheduled monument, which he bought for £6million – was reopened to general visitors in early 2020, with tours of it still available now.
The land mass has previously served, in the Tudor era, as a strategic defensive point and religious refuge for the politically persecuted.
It was also formerly the site of a chapel, marine observatory, adventure centre and even a state prison.
The island – named for Sir Francis Drake, who set sail from the site in 1577 to travel the world – was put up for sale in July last year.
St Dominic, meanwhile, which sits to the east of Cornwall, fewer than 15 miles from Plymouth, is made up of several small settlements and home to only around 900 people.
Officers are asking anyone who has seen Guy or knows or his whereabouts to call 999, quoting log 852.
