logo
Missing Brit who vanished after stag do in Portugal found dead in ravine

Missing Brit who vanished after stag do in Portugal found dead in ravine

Daily Mirror3 days ago

A British tourist who went missing for over a week on a stag do has been found dead.
Scottish man Greg Monks, 38, was discovered at the bottom of a ravine after he was last seen in Albufeira, Portugal.
Greg, from Glasgow, vanished in the early hours of last Wednesday morning after travelling to Albufeira for a stag do with friends. His parents and girlfriend flew to the country to help with the search.
Portuguese police today confirmed a body has been found in "steep wasteland" and is believed to be that of Greg. His cause of death is not yet known and an autopsy is set to be carried out.
Police have not revealed what they believe to be Greg's cause of death.
More information is expected to be released after the autopsy takes place but privately, while the hunt was still on for Greg, police said there was nothing pointing to his disappearance being a crime.
Police in Portugal have confirmed the body of Greg Monks has been found after a week-long search.
The Policia Judiciaria police force said in a statement: 'The PJ has located the body of the missing Scottish tourist in Albufeira.'
It added: 'PJ police, through the Southern Directorate and with the collaboration of the Albufeira GNR police force, today located the body of a man who had been missing since May 28 in the Cerro de Aguia area of Albufeira.
'The disappearance of the 38-year-old UK citizen was reported to the Albufeira GNR at 8pm on the 28th by another man who was accompanying him on holiday in the area.
'After carrying out various enquiries and establishing the presumed route taken in the early hours of that day since the last sighting, the body was located on steep wasteland.
'After the appropriate judicial inspection, the body will be removed and taken to the nearest Institute of Forensic Medicine for an autopsy.'
Greg's family has insisted his disappearance was out of character and he did not suffer from mental health problems.
Jillian said: "He's not got any mental health issues or issues with depression. Nothing like this has ever happened before. That's why when I got the phone call from one of his friends on Wednesday to say he had gone missing it immediately threw up a red flag."
Jillian also said she and her sister have children and Greg was a "great" uncle to them.
"My daughter particularly has got a very close bond with him," she said. '"She dotes on him."
Greg Monks was a 38-year-old man from Glasgow. He was a "plant mechanic" who "fixes big diggers and HGVs and things like that", according to his sister Jillian.
She said that Greg, who attended a stag do in Portugal as part of a group, is generally a "quiet" and "content" person who lives with his girlfriend.
"They have a bulldog and they just go out walking the dog," she said.
Another of Greg's sisters, Carlyn, told Sky News last night: "As a family, we're worried sick. It's just so unlike him, but myself and Jillian are just trying to hold each other up back home."
Jillian also admitted their "unimaginable" fear that Greg may be "lying somewhere and we can't find him".
Portuguese newspaper daily Correio da Manha is reporting Portugal's Policia Judiciaria force is at the scene.
Greg disappeared after the first night of the stag do. He was last seen on CCTV in the residential area of Cerro de Aguia, located roughly four miles away from the main club and bar strip of Albufeira, on Tuesday 27 May
His sister Jillian sounded the alarm on May 29 and she described his disappearance as "completely out of character".
She wrote on an Albufeira expat site: "My brother has not been since Tuesday evening. If you are currently there and have any information place contact me with any info."
Greg Monks' body is understood to have been found by police at the bottom of a ravine.
Greg, 38, vanished on Wednesday morning in the Algarve while he was away with friends on a stag do.
His sister Jillian said: 'There are about 10 to 15 friends all from Scotland on the stag do and Greg was due to be a groomsman.'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Madeleine McCann suspect to be released soon amid failure
Madeleine McCann suspect to be released soon amid failure

Glasgow Times

time2 hours ago

  • Glasgow Times

Madeleine McCann suspect to be released soon amid failure

Christian Brueckner, who is in prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005, reportedly sent a letter to officers saying questions which would implicate him in the case of the three-year-old British girl, who vanished from the same resort 18 years ago, cannot be answered. In the note, seen and translated by The Sun newspaper, Brueckner reportedly wrote: 'It is the important questions, the decisive questions that can never be answered. 'Was I or my vehicle clearly seen near the crime scene on the night of the crime? 'Is there DNA evidence of me at the crime scene? Are there DNA traces of the injured party in my vehicle? 'Are there other traces/DNA carriers of the injured party in my possession? Photos? 'And, don't forget, is there a body/corpse? All no, no no.' It is not clear when the letter was written. Brueckner spent time in the Praia de Luz area between 2000 and 2017 and had photographs and videos of himself near a reservoir. Recommended reading: It comes as German and Portuguese investigators finished three days of searching a 120-acre stretch of land near Lagos, Portugal, on Thursday as part of attempts to source evidence to implicate Brueckner. In the searches requested by German authorities, crews spent three days scouring scrubland and abandoned structures. Brueckner is due to be released from jail in September if no further charges are brought. In October last year, he was cleared by a German court of unrelated sexual offences, alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court staff confiscate over 200 'bladed weapons' in past year
Edinburgh Sheriff Court staff confiscate over 200 'bladed weapons' in past year

Edinburgh Live

time2 hours ago

  • Edinburgh Live

Edinburgh Sheriff Court staff confiscate over 200 'bladed weapons' in past year

Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info More than 200 bladed weapons were confiscated from people entering Edinburgh Sheriff Court in the past year. Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request show guns, bullets and 2,000 blades are among the deadly haul of weapons brought into Scottish courts in the last year. Security staff seized 1,258 bladed items and 815 knives at courthouse checkpoints between April 2024 and March this year. Edinburgh's Sheriff Court was the second worst affected building in Scotland, with more than 200 bladed weapons and 119 knives found by security staff at checkpoints between April 2024 and March this year. The data, obtained by our sister title the Daily Record, did not reveal which types of knives were seized or whether the blades were over three inch legal limit for carrying in public. Glasgow Sheriff Court takes the unwanted place at the top of the weapons list with 278 blades seized and 123 knives. The worst month was October 2024 where a total of 40 bladed articles and 16 knives were seized. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) said they take the safety of all court users "very seriously" and security crews alert police when attempts to smuggle in weapons are made. However knife crime charity, the Ben Kinsella Trust, branded the grim statistics as "deeply alarming". Chief executive Patrick Green said: "The large number of bladed articles seized at the entrance of court buildings is deeply alarming. "What's especially concerning is that the prospect of a search isn't deterring individuals, which points to a worrying normalisation of knife carrying." Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sentstraight to your messages. Blades have also made their way into Scotland's two High Courts where the country's most serious crimes are tried. The data shows that 174 bladed articles were taken from individuals at Glasgow High Court, whilst 51 knives were confiscated. In the capital, Edinburgh High Court has a much reduced rate of sharp weapons entering the building. Only six bladed articles were confiscated whilst 22 knives were seized.. Some data from the country's smaller courts were not available. A spokesperson for Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service said: "SCTS takes the safety of all court users very seriously. We constantly review security issues and share those outcomes with our justice partners, including Police Scotland, in order to take all reasonable precautions against weapons being introduced into court buildings. "Any item which is considered to be a potential risk to public safety will be confiscated on entering a court building and the discovery of weapons or potential weapons is immediately reported to the police." A Scottish Violence Reduction Unit spokesperson said: "There is no place for weapon-carrying in Scotland and we should not accept it. "We must continue to work together across all services to tackle the root causes of weapon-carrying to address the problem."

I am a professional money expert - but I'm medically rubbish with numbers
I am a professional money expert - but I'm medically rubbish with numbers

Metro

time2 hours ago

  • Metro

I am a professional money expert - but I'm medically rubbish with numbers

For some people, swimming is a great way to clear their head. Not me though. As I swim up and down my local 25 metre pool, I'm busy doing mental arithmetic. My goal is to swim one mile continuously. This equates to 1,609 metres, so dividing that by 25 means I'm aiming to swim 64 lengths. As a result, I keep track of the distance I've done. I often find myself counting, adding, multiplying and dividing – and for the first time in my life, actually enjoying it. My journey towards number confidence over the years has not always gone this swimmingly. This may come as a surprise as I am a money expert and financial journalist, but ever since my childhood, I've struggled with numbers. Maths lessons were mental torture. I didn't know why, as an otherwise straight A student, I couldn't hold this information in my head, or remember my times tables, or grasp everyday concepts like quantities, measurements and distances. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video It was only when I was later diagnosed with dyscalculia, often described as number dyslexia, in my mid-teens, that I finally realised why my brain doesn't easily process or retain numbers. I was fortunate enough to end up with a brilliant teacher while studying for my compulsory maths Standard Grade (the Scottish equivalent of GSCE). He created a calm, disciplined and focused environment in which I could make some basic progress. But even then, I was filled with anxiety and distress at the prospect of having to sit a maths exam. I was referred to the excellent learning needs department of my school, which unlocked my diagnosis. Initially, I felt relieved – this problem wasn't down to me being lazy or stupid. But as the years went on, I started worrying that people would judge me, especially once I moved into money journalism. As I've got older, I've met plenty of women who for some reason feel disconnected from both maths and money And yes, I have occasionally had people questioning my ability to do my job or falsely claim that I'm unable to do basic arithmetic (I know 2 x 2 = 4). But overall, awareness and understanding has increased, and that can only be a good thing. I've picked up lots of coping strategies over the years – from always having a calculator on hand to using visual budgeting tools. But even today, there are corners of finance that I still find taxing. Like… well, tax. Whether it's allowances, relief or deductions, I sometimes need to double check with someone more number-smart than me (namely my dad) whether I've done my sums right. But as hard as I find this stuff, I push through. I know that if I can improve my confidence around numbers, I can be much more capable with my finances and (cue Destiny's Child) an Independent Woman, never having to rely on someone to look after me. Sadly, recent research from National Numeracy shows there is still a stubborn gender gap when it comes to financial confidence. The charity's survey found that women are less comfortable than men talking about money, less confident when it comes to making financial decisions, and more likely to struggle with debt. At the same time, women reported being less confident in their ability to work with numbers compared to men, but they're also more sceptical that improving their numeracy would benefit their financial situation: Only 56% of women see a connection, compared to 65% of men. I have often thought about whether my gender played a role in my historic difficulties with numbers. Growing up, was I somehow conditioned to think maths is for boys? Not particularly – there were plenty of girls around me at school who excelled at maths, including my best friend who is now an accountant. But as I've got older, I've met plenty of women who for some reason feel disconnected from both maths and money, and don't always appreciate that there's a link between the two. Don't get me wrong, I understand why women aren't necessarily rushing to remedial maths classes. How does relearning the isosceles triangle help us put food on the table or cope with expensive childcare? A good start would be a school curriculum that majors much more on real-world financial challenges, such as budgeting, tax, payslips, and debt. Teaching maths through money, rather than the other way round, would help young people get more comfortable with numbers as a fact of life, not something to be afraid of. I also strongly believe the more women we have in public talking about both money and maths, the better. Former Countdown star Rachel Riley and super mathematician Hannah Fry are obvious role models, but different kinds of champions can also cut-through, such as TV presenter Denise Welch and Strictly dancer Katya Jones, who are both ambassadors of National Numeracy (as am I). It's why I appear on BBC Morning Live to talk about finances (and yes, sometimes numbers, carefully checked) in front of more than a million viewers every week. If I encourage anyone watching, including women, to take more control of their money, then the 6.30am call time at the studio is worth it. There are manageable steps we can all take to conquer number phobia. The free online National Numeracy Challenge is a great way to build confidence at a pace and level to suit you. This comprises a simple questionnaire that gauges how comfortable you feel about numbers and what your goals are. Your answers are then used to design an online learning process that's personalised to you. It's all based on maths you'll need in everyday life, and once you start doing quick check-ups (not tests!) on your abilities, you may be pleasantly surprised at how much you're improving. If there's only one money-maths concept you get your head around, make it interest rates. This alone will help you work out how to save and borrow more wisely. For example, you can start to compare the annual percentage rate (APR) on mortgages, credit cards and overdrafts to see if you're getting the best deal. More Trending You should also get into the habit of checking the price per unit on products in supermarkets (usually in tiny print on the label), which helps you compare pure value on products once you strip out differing quantities. For example, there could be two different quantities of milk on the shelf – a one litre carton or a discounted two litre carton. You can compare the unit prices to see if the core value of the two-litre carton is still higher even with the tempting discount. And try flexing your maths muscles in the day-to-day activities you enjoy, whether it's measuring ingredients for baking or mastering complex rhythms in music or dance. View More » Or, like me, calculating lengths in the pool. You never know, you might just like it. Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing Share your views in the comments below. MORE: Average UK house price fell by £1,150 month-on-month in May MORE: I asked my partner to choose the porn I watched for a week MORE: Why I'm scared by a report about Britain's 'minority white' future Your free newsletter guide to the best London has on offer, from drinks deals to restaurant reviews.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store