Missing Brit's brother to search Costa Rica 'as long as it takes'
(BRUSSELS) - The brother of a British journalist missing in Costa Rica for more than two weeks said on Thursday he will stay "as long as it takes" in the central American country to find him.
Michael Dixon, 33, was last spotted leaving the Villas Macondo hotel in the popular surfers' resort of Playa Tamarindo on the morning of October 19, having travelled there on his own.
His brother, David, left England for Costa Rica last week -- and told Thursday of sleepless days searching the streets and the caves around the resort, but still to no avail.
"The most worrying thing is we haven't the slightest lead -- not me, not the police and not the British embassy," Dixon said. "I didn't think it could be this frustrating.
"I don't know who he would have met -- he was just travelling himself, backpacking... everybody's baffled.
"If somebody had even seen him on the beach, we could say maybe he had an accident in the sea -- but there weren't even any lifeguards on duty that day.
"I've been sleeping about three hours a night since I got here, getting up at 5am, checking with people in the street, distributing flyers, hiring boats to search the coast and the caves and staying in touch with the authorities.
Dixon and an American-based cousin say they are remaining positive -- despite a power outage in Tamarindo on Wednesday which left him with no Internet access.
The family is using a Facebook group to help their search.
"I'm planning to stay as long as it takes to find out Michael's whereabouts -- I can't go home with no information," Dixon added.
"It's difficult to stay positive but I'm keeping my hopes up -- if we can't, no one will be able to at home.
"There are obviously many different scenarios running through my head just now, but I just want to concentrate on trying to find Michael."
Described as 1.7 metres tall (almost five foot seven inches) and weighing 65 kilos (10 stone three pounds), Dixon was wearing shorts and a T-shirt when last seen.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to contact findmichaeldixon@gmail.com.
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