Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Courtney Pochin

'My cousin went travelling and we never heard from him again - it's been 20 years'

A woman has captured the attention of Mumsnet users after sharing a mysterious tale about her cousin - and how he seemingly vanished into thin air.

The unnamed mum took to the parenting forum to share the story and ask if people thought there was something she didn't know.

In her post, she claimed that her cousin was raised by her grandparents and when he was in his 20s, he decided he wanted to go travelling in America.

She told how she was eight at the time, but remembers her grandparents helped him get some money together and he left, saying he'd be back soon.

However, he never returned from his trip - and he never wrote or called again either.

She thinks she may have found him on Ancestry.co.uk (stock photo) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Get the news you want straight to your inbox. Sign up for a Mirror newsletter here.

"Nobody ever heard from him again," she wrote. "It broke my grandparents' hearts and they spent their final years worrying about him and whether he was OK. None of his friends ever heard from him again either. He completely disappeared off the face of the earth and there was no trace of him online (I looked every few years out of curiosity).

"It has been 20 years since he vanished now.

"Last year I signed up to Ancestry and was looking at the family tree. I stumbled across something, I can't remember what exactly it was now, but it showed that he (his name) had an account and had recently been on there either researching the family or adding something to the tree.

"I sent him a message through the site asking how he was and telling him a bit about my life, how I've had children etc. I gave my email address and said he could contact me if he wanted to be in touch.

"I didn't hear anything back."

The woman goes on to share how she doesn't understand why someone would want to disappear and never speak to their family again.

"I was only a child when he left but I remember having a lovely relationship with him and seeing him as something of a big brother.

"He obviously wants to be left alone which is his right but it's so confusing.

"Do you think there's something I don't know?"

More than 350 people have since replied to the post, with many sharing their thoughts on the situation.

One person wrote: "I think there's probably a lot of things you don't know and never will. I would leave him be."

Another said: "We can’t possibly know what went on any more than you. But it sounds like he’s made his choice to separate from his family and that should be respected."

A third replied: "He probably struggled with being rejected by his parents and wanted a new life. Too upsetting for him to face his family? I’m guessing you were raised by your parents? Maybe he found that hard to cope with- the unfairness."

While someone else asked: "How much of this did you hear/see with your own eyes and ears, and how much did your GP tell everyone once he’d gone?

"If he had a leaving party with his friends and wider family, or if you all went to wave him off from Heathrow, or if he spent ages telling everyone about his plan to hitchhike Route 66, or anything like that, ok, weird he changed his mind and never came back.

"If you only found out about this 'travelling' plan after he’d gone, it’s honestly more likely there was some falling out you weren’t aware of and he just went no contact And your family claimed he’d gone travelling to explain it away to everyone, presumably expecting him to return."

Do you have a story to share? We want to hear all about it. Email us at yourmirror@mirror.co.uk

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.