logo
Searches continue for missing brother of judo Olympian

Searches continue for missing brother of judo Olympian

Independent03-03-2025

Searches are continuing for the brother of a judo Olympian who went missing in Bristol in the early hours of Friday morning.
More than 100 police officers have been involved in the search for Luis Piovesana, 26, who was last seen at around 3am on Friday at Eastgate retail park having travelled there via a taxi from a venue in Little Ann Street, St Jude's, a 10-minute drive away.
Officers from Avon and Somerset police, and Mr Piovesana's sister – who competed for Team GB before switching to the Austrian team – Lubjana Piovesana, 28, have appealed for people to check their CCTVs, doorbells and dashcams.
Those living in the St Werburgh's, St Agnes, Eastville and Fishponds areas are asked to check the period between 3am until 7am, with a police spokesperson saying it 'could be vital in helping us trace Luis' next steps'.
Mr Piovesana's family, who have spent the weekend searching for their loved one, have also asked for people to check their gardens and sheds in case he has become trapped.
Mounted officers and police drone teams have also been involved in the investigation, with police divers searching the River Frome near the M32.
Detective Inspector Pete Walker said: 'We remain incredibly concerned for the welfare of Luis and despite extensive and extremely thorough searches have unfortunately yet been able to find him.
'We are extremely grateful for the support of Luis' family and friends and also the search and rescue and helicopter teams who have helped us so far and continue to do so.
'More than 100 officers, detectives and police staff are involved in this investigation and everyone is working tirelessly to find Luis.
'We are releasing CCTV clips showing Luis' movements in case it jogs anyone's memory who could have encountered him.'
Speaking to the PA news agency, Ms Piovesana's partner, Laurin Bohler, said they have searched tirelessly for Mr Piovesana since he went missing, with family and friends having come from Birmingham to help search.
'We are looking for places where we could find him alive,' he said.
'What's quite frustrating is we haven't seen him on any CCTV since that night.
'He kind of disappeared, and we have covered the route from Ikea towards his home millions of times.
'Anybody who is in this area please check your backyards, your sheds, places where it's hard for us to get access to.
'After three days (of being missing) he's not lying on a public street, people would have seen him, it was nice weather this weekend, people out and about all the time, he's not in an obvious location.'
He said they were joined by a private search team on Monday, who have been hired using crowdfunding site Just Giving.
Mr Piovesana was last seen wearing black baggy jeans with a diamond patterned stitching on them, cream-coloured trainers, a black and grey Rapha gilet and a black Rapha cap.
Friends saw him getting into a taxi at 2.55am at The Jam Jar in Little Ann Street, St Jude's.
While in the taxi, at 2.59am he made a call to his partner and left a voicemail.
Four minutes later, he called 999 but hung up after 34 seconds, with attempts to call him back having gone unanswered.
At 3.04am, the police received a call from a member of the public concerned for a man walking in the area close to junction 2 of the M32.
Officers attended that call and carried out inquiries, but did not see the man in question.
The last confirmed sighting of Luis is on foot near the Click and Collect facility at the back of the Tesco Extra car park.
His bag, phone and wallet were later found discarded at the retail park by a friend using a tracking app linked to Luis' phone.
Subsequent CCTV inquiries showed Luis discarded those items.
He was reported missing at 7.37am and an investigation was launched.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Sir Mo Farah's real name and family after Team GB ace's 30-year secret was outed
Sir Mo Farah's real name and family after Team GB ace's 30-year secret was outed

Daily Mirror

time3 days ago

  • Daily Mirror

Sir Mo Farah's real name and family after Team GB ace's 30-year secret was outed

Sir Mo Farah will always be known for his incredible performances at the London 2012 Olympic Games, but he shocked the world in 2022 for a completely different reason Sir Mo Farah's name will always be mentioned as one of Team GB's all-time legends at the Olympic Games. He won two gold medals in London in 2012 and two more at the Rio De Janeiro games four years later, captivating the sporting world on his way to a knighthood in 2017, where Queen Elizabeth II made him a Sir. He will be wearing an England shirt with 'Farah' emblazoned on the back when he steps onto the Old Trafford pitch for Soccer Aid this weekend. Yet, the name on the Three Lions shirt, the name that was pinned onto his running vest and the name next to his many records is not really his. ‌ In 2022, as part of the eye-opening BBC documentary 'The Real Mo Farah', the athlete revealed his name was not 'Mo Farah' and that he had been living under somebody else's identity. ‌ Farah, 42, revealed his real name was Hussein Abdi Kahin. When he was only four years old, Farah, who was originally from Somaliland, lost his father, who was killed while tending to his cattle by a piece of shrapnel from a bazooka blast during Somalia's civil war. After being sent to neighbouring Djibouti for his safety, Farah would eventually be illegally trafficked into the United Kingdom. A woman, whose identity is still unknown, pretended to be his mother and brought him to the UK under the premise that he would be staying with family. He was instructed to come into the country under the name Mo Farah - who was a different child - and was handed illegal documents. This dangerous process went through while he was only nine years old. He realised he had taken someone else's place at the airport when he saw a man wondering why his child had not arrived. When he got to the woman's flat, she tore up a piece of paper with his family's contact details on it and ordered him to look after the children of another family. He told the BBC: "If I wanted food in my mouth, my job was to look after those kids, shower them, cook for them, clean for them. She said, 'If you ever wanna see your family again, don't say anything.' Often I would just lock myself in the bathroom and cry." At the age of 11, Farah enrolled into Feltham Community College. Teachers and other staff at the school were told he was a refugee from Somalia. His form tutor Sarah Rennie said Farah was, "unkempt and uncared for" and "emotionally and culturally alienated," largely due to the lack of English he spoke. ‌ It was during PE lessons when the teachers realised he was an athletics prodigy. Alan Watkinson, Farah's PE teacher, said: "The only language he seemed to understand was the language of PE and sport." Watkinson would go on to contact social services who managed to find another family from Somalia to foster him. Mr Watkinson helped him gain British citizenship under the name Mohamed Farah, which was granted in 2000. ‌ From that point onwards, Farah developed as a person and an athlete, going on to become a four-time Olympic gold medallist and a six-time world champion. When Farah was sent away, he had to leave his mother Aisha and two brothers, who all live on a farm in Somaliland. Farah met his now-wife Tania Nell while at university in West London. Together they have four children, Rhianna, Hussein Mo, Amani and Aisha Farah. Incredibly, in the documentary, Farah also met the real Mohamed Farah over a video call. However, The Sun claimed the athlete had to break contact with him and change his phone number, after he was allegedly hounded for money by the man and around ten others who had got hold of his number.

Madeleine McCann's siblings now from Olympic swimmer to heartbreaking promise
Madeleine McCann's siblings now from Olympic swimmer to heartbreaking promise

Daily Mirror

time3 days ago

  • Daily Mirror

Madeleine McCann's siblings now from Olympic swimmer to heartbreaking promise

Madeleine McCann went missing 18 years ago during a family holiday in Portugal. Her family have never stopped searching for their daughter and have tried to carry on with their lives, including siblings, Sean and Amelie It's been 18 years since the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, and her family have tried their best to continue with their lives, despite the heartwrenching loss and uncertainty. Her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, have never stopped looking for their daughter, who would now be 21, while her siblings have shared a special promise to their older sister. At the age of three, Madeleine went missing on Thursday, 3 May 2007, after her parents left her sleeping in the bedroom with her two-year-old twin siblings during a family holiday in Portugal. The parents regularly returned to the flat to check on their three children, but at about 10pm Kate went to their bedroom to find that Madeleine had vanished, while her brother and sister were sleeping nearby. The police were promptly notified, sparking a global search for the toddler, who has still not been located. ‌ Her parents, Gerry and Kate, and sibling twins, Sean and Amelie, have strived to go on with their lives, despite enduring unspeakable hardships. The family are based in Rothley, Leicestershire, with Kate returning to her role as a doctor and Gerry working as a research professor in experimental medicine and a professor of cardiac imaging at the University of Leicester. ‌ As for the twins, who are now 20 years old, Kate shared how they have tried to move on with their lives. She said: "They have their own friends and they keep busy and they're really sporty but their only wish is for their big sister to come home. We miss our complete family of five. "As a family 98 per cent of the time we're busy. I don't know if that's a conscious thing but it helps. The urge to look for Madeleine absolutely hasn't changed at all." We've taken a look at where Madeleine's siblings are now... Olympic swimmer Madeleine's brother Sean has emerged as a promising swimmer, with expectations of him making a splash for Team GB at the Los Angeles Olympics come 2028. Earlier this year, he made headlines after winning a gold medal during a Mediterranean open water swimming event. Sean's dedication to swimming spans nearly 10 years, including pre-dawn plunges since age 11 and thrice weekly gym sessions to boost his performance. His sights are said to be firmly set on representing Scotland at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. ‌ Penning his own journey on a local website, Sean detailed his climbing the ranks from joining City of Leicester Swimming Club to clinching "multiple county titles" and securing champion status regionally and nationally in his age group. He wrote: "At the age of 10, I was selected to swim at City of Leicester, and I have since gone on to win multiple county titles, as well as becoming regional and national champion in my age group. "In order to have achieved this, I have had to remain extremely dedicated, getting up at 4am multiple mornings each week to train." ‌ Sean represented Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2023, making it to the 400 and 1500m Freestyle finals. He's also recognised as an avid Open Water swimmer, being a part of Scotland's National Open Water Development Squad. University Sean boasts a raft of other notable accolades, balancing athletic prowess with academic success, as he pursues a degree in chemical engineering at university. In the meantime, his twin sister Amelie has her own sporting accolades, having participated in a series of cross-country and triathlon events whilst studying at a university in the north of England. ‌ Their great-uncle, Brian Kennedy, shared with the Daily Mail that parents Kate and Gerry are delighted with Sean and Amelie's successes. But the absence of their sister has inevitably cast a dark shadow over the lives of her and her brother. During an interview with The Sun, Kate stated that Sean and Amelie have "grown up essentially without Madeleine but knowing their sister is missing and they want her back". Sibling promise When Kate released her book in 2012, 'Madeleine,' she revealed that the twins had given her the strength to carry on. Her younger son Sean had promised, "When you're old, me and Amelie will look for Madeleine." ‌ Speaking to the Mirror, she also disclosed: "I was chatting to Amelie and she said, 'Mummy's sad because Madeleine is not here. But Amelie is here, and Amelie and Sean will always be here.'". Kate, speaking as an ambassador for the charity Missing People, mentioned the teen twins: "They have their own friends and they keep busy and they're really sporty but their only wish is for their big sister to come home. We miss our complete family of five." On the poignant 16th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance, Amelie joined her parents at a vigil for missing children. Amelie lit a candle in her memory and later said: "It's nice that everyone is here together but it's a sad occasion." Amelie, accompanied by her friend Georgina, joined in repeating mantras read out by individual people in the 70-strong crowd, including "Never, never give up", "leave no stsone unturned", "don't forget about me", and "still missing, still missed."

Classroom killer's final photos: Cat-obsessed gunman posted photograph of his FEET inside school bathroom cubicle moments before killing ten - and also took pictures of weapons he used
Classroom killer's final photos: Cat-obsessed gunman posted photograph of his FEET inside school bathroom cubicle moments before killing ten - and also took pictures of weapons he used

Daily Mail​

time5 days ago

  • Daily Mail​

Classroom killer's final photos: Cat-obsessed gunman posted photograph of his FEET inside school bathroom cubicle moments before killing ten - and also took pictures of weapons he used

The Austrian shooter who killed 10 people at his former school before turning the gun on himself earlier this week shared pictures of his preparation and the weapons he used in the assault to social media, it has emerged. Arthur A., a 21-year-old avid gamer and cat lover, launched his attack at the BORG Dreierschutzengasse high school in Graz, a city in the southern state of Styria, on Tuesday. The shooter shared an image of his own feet clad in black leather combat boots while sitting in a toilet cubicle on the third floor of the school. There he strapped on a gun belt with a hunting knife, shooting glasses and a headset, loaded his weapons and stormed into the hallways to carry out the massacre that was later confirmed as Austria's worst mass shooting. In two other posts, the young killer snapped a selfie and showed off a shotgun and a pistol he had bought along with the caption: 'Veeeeeerrry early birthday present for myself', according to Austrian media. He went on to use both weapons in the course of his rampage. The images of the killer were brought to light after it emerged the social recluse had sent his mother a farewell video moments before he carried out his attack, pleading for forgiveness for 'what I'm about to do now'. Investigators said his mother opened the video 24 minutes after receiving it and immediately notified police, but her son had already slaughtered 10 students and shot himself before armed cops descended on the scene. Arthur A. also requested that his cat be looked after following his demise and said that bullying at school had caused him to drop out early and led him to commit the heinous crime. The young killer showed off a shotgun and a pistol he had bought along with the caption: 'Veeeeeerrry early birthday present for myself'. Both were used in the shooting 'A farewell letter in analogue and digital form was found,' Franz Ruf, the public security director at Austria's interior ministry, told ORF public television following the shooting. 'He says goodbye to his parents. But no motive can be inferred from the farewell letter, and that is a matter for further investigations.' Asked whether the assailant had attacked victims randomly or targeted them specifically, Ruf said that is also under investigation and he didn't want to speculate. He said that wounded people were found on various levels of the school and, in one case, in front of the building. The student victims were aged between 14 and 17. A teacher was also killed. In new details, investigators said the gunman, who would have turned 22 in less than two weeks, had maintained contact with only one friend in the days leading up to the attack. Mayor of Karlsdorf, a small town near Graz where the killer lived, told reporters the evidence suggested that Arthur A. 'was a very inconspicuous young man'. 'It felt like he wasn't even noticed. Nobody really knew him. This is exactly the profile that we unfortunately see too often - silent, socially isolated recluses.' Austrian outlet Kronen Zeitung said the killer had an interest in the 1999 US Columbine school massacre in Colorado carried out by two teenage shooters and that he apparently used a photo of one of the pair on a profile linked to his online gaming pseudonym. Police are continuing to scour the shooter's electronic devices but said yesterday they had not discovered any video of the high school shooting on his mobile phone. Criminal police head Michael Lohnegger described the shooter as a 'very introverted person'. 'We discovered that his great passion was participating in so-called online first-person shooting games,' Lohnegger said, adding the killer had carefully planned the attack, according to a handwritten note found at his home. This note 'showed that the entire course of events had been planned by the perpetrator down to the most minute detail', Lohnegger said. Austrian media published photos that showed the killer being lauded for his exploits as a competitive gamer. Arthur A. was seen wearing a yellow and black team jersey at an Austrian gaming tournament called VulkanLAN2024 last year. He was also pictured clutching what appeared to be a winning plaque. People light candles on the main square in the city center after a deadly shooting at a school in Graz, Austria, Tuesday, June 10, 2025 Nine students were killed in Tuesday's attack - six girls and three boys aged between 14 and 17, one of whom had Polish citizenship - as well as a teacher, police said. Another 11 people were wounded before the attacker took his own life. A 15-year-old Kosovan girl named Lea Ilir Bajrami was the first of his victims to be pictured. Mourning the teen in a Facebook post, her heartbroken aunt wrote: 'Today, my niece Lea tragically lost her life in the attack in Graz. 'We pray for her soul and express our gratitude to all those who share our pain during these difficult times.' Her grandfather Muhabi Bajrami wrote on Facebook: 'With a broken heart and great pain, we inform family, friends and relatives that our granddaughter tragically lost her life in the attack that occurred in Graz, Austria. 'We pray for her soul and express our gratitude to all those who share our pain in these difficult moments.' Shots and screams rang out as the shooter stormed into his old classroom blasting a shotgun and a pistol. Terror-stricken pupils pretended to be dead as they cowered in corridors and two classrooms or ran for their lives. Chilling video captured the sound of shots followed by screams as the gunman picked off his victims. One student fleeing from the shooter called her mother during the attack saying: 'Mama, mama, I'm running for my life!' The mother described the situation to reporters as unbearable, saying: 'It was so terrible, you can't even imagine it.' Another student reportedly witnessed three classmates being shot. His father said: 'He was terrified and lay down on the floor so the shooter would think he was dead.' In the country's worst mass school shooting, terror-stricken pupils pretended to be dead as they cowered in corridors and two classrooms or ran for their lives. Pictured: Special forces descended on the high school shortly before 10am local time after reports of gunshots A 15-year-old Kosovan girl named Lea was the first victim to be pictured Pictured: Two female students cling on to each other as they escape the school building People embrace as they gather on the main square following a deadly school shooting in Graz, Austria, June 10, 2025 Family members reunite following the deadly school shooting in Graz, Austria The school's religious studies teacher Paul Nitsche told how he saw the gunman blasting out locks with a shotgun before entering and spraying staff and students with handgun bullets. 'It was hard to take in,' he said. 'This is something I had never even imagined before. That's what the situation was like as I was running down the stairwell - I thought to myself, this isn't real.' Another teacher, who asked not to be named, said: 'The whole community is in a state of shock. Schools should be places of safety and learning. But on this day it became more like something from a nightmare. 'Everyone was in a state of sheer terror.' On Tuesday, Cchurch bells rang across the city of Graz, all local radio and TV broadcasts were interrupted and more than 900 public transport vehicles, including trams and buses, ground to a halt for 10am mark of remembrance. Two other schools in the city, including a nursery school, were evacuated today after they received 'copycat' threats shortly before the planned minute's silence, though no further attacks occurred. Six female and three male victims died quickly after being shot, with one adult said to be among them.

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