Mystery of the Missing Man

On the 8th July 2001 Jeffrey Hodgson disappeared while on holiday on the island of Ibiza.

On 15th October 2002, 15 months after he disappeared from the hotel, Jeffrey’s body was found by people who were climbing a remote headland cliff near Cala Llonga. It would appear that he had been there since he vanished. How he got there unaided remains a mystery.

Jeffrey Hodgson, was a mentally handicapped man with a mental age of an eight year old child. He vanished from the reception area of the Sirenis Playa Hotel in the Cala Llonga while his parents Beryl and Derek were checking into the hotel.

4 years ago, a family holiday brought me to the exact same area. Unaware of the story at the time, I, too, climbed the steep sides of the Cap de Llibrell and stared in wonder at the views from the top.

When I heard of the story back in the UK, the mind of a forensic tracker went into over-drive. What attracted Jeffrey to the steep slopes and why did he choose such a difficult route? What made Jeffrey suddenly veer off the gravel track and become lost? Why did he die? Why did the Spanish authorities wait for so long to start the search? Why did the UK coroner declare an open verdict even though there was apparently no criminality involved? If trackers had been deployed, would they have found Jeffrey before he so tragically died?

We will probably never know the answer to any of these questions, but at least I will have the opportunity to try and visualise what was conceivable, probable or down-right impossible because I am returning to the area.

Tracking isn’t just about the footprints in the sand. Jeffrey’s prints have long since disappeared. Tracking is a relationship between the tracker, the quarry, the environment, the geography, the journey, and space and time. The relationships must be personal. When humans go missing, some of the relationships get disrupted, or they take on unusual characteristics especially if there are other variables involved such as depression or mental disability.

I hope that any findings will be fed into a research project which is being undertaken by a university and 2 police forces. I will share these details at a later date.

The full story of Jeffery’s disappearance is here http://where’sjeffrey.org

Mystery of the Missing Man

On the 8th July 2001 Jeffrey Hodgson disappeared while on holiday on the island of Ibiza.

On 15th October 2002, 15 months after he disappeared from the hotel, Jeffrey’s body was found by people who were climbing a remote headland cliff near Cala Llonga. It would appear that he had been there since he vanished. How he got there unaided remains a mystery.

Jeffrey Hodgson, was a mentally handicapped man with a mental age of an eight year old child. He vanished from the reception area of the Sirenis Playa Hotel in the Cala Llonga while his parents Beryl and Derek were checking into the hotel.

4 years ago, a family holiday brought me to the exact same area. Unaware of the story at the time, I, too, climbed the steep sides of the Cap de Llibrell and stared in wonder at the views from the top.

When I heard of the story back in the UK, the mind of a forensic tracker went into over-drive. What attracted Jeffrey to the steep slopes and why did he choose such a difficult route? What made Jeffrey suddenly veer off the gravel track and become lost? Why did he die? Why did the Spanish authorities wait for so long to start the search? Why did the UK coroner declare an open verdict even though there was apparently no criminality involved? If trackers had been deployed, would they have found Jeffrey before he so tragically died?

We will probably never know the answer to any of these questions, but at least I will have the opportunity to try and visualise what was conceivable, probable or down-right impossible because I am returning to the area.

Tracking isn’t just about the footprints in the sand. Jeffrey’s prints have long since disappeared. Tracking is a relationship between the tracker, the quarry, the environment, the geography, the journey, and space and time. The relationships must be personal. When humans go missing, some of the relationships get disrupted, or they take on unusual characteristics especially if there are other variables involved such as depression or mental disability.

I hope that any findings will be fed into a research project which is being undertaken by a university and 2 police forces. I will share these details at a later date.

The full story of Jeffery’s disappearance is here http://where’sjeffrey.org

What Are They Up to Now?

I mentioned earlier in the year that we’ve got some exciting projects in the pipeline. One them is working with an American shoe-wear company.

We will be giving out more details later, but this weekend we spent some time in Park Woods making a video to introduce ourselves. Of course, we’ll post it up when it’s finished, but here’s a few stills from the video to give you a flavour.

The animals must have known we wanted to do this as there was, unusually for that wood, a huge amount of tracks and sign. Badger, muntiac, fallow, squirrel, fox were all clearly on show. We were spoilt for choice.

Thanks for the visit.

What Are They Up to Now?

I mentioned earlier in the year that we’ve got some exciting projects in the pipeline. One them is working with an American shoe-wear company.

We will be giving out more details later, but this weekend we spent some time in Park Woods making a video to introduce ourselves. Of course, we’ll post it up when it’s finished, but here’s a few stills from the video to give you a flavour.

The animals must have known we wanted to do this as there was, unusually for that wood, a huge amount of tracks and sign. Badger, muntiac, fallow, squirrel, fox were all clearly on show. We were spoilt for choice.

Thanks for the visit.

We are ordering up some Woodlife Trails Hoodies.

These will be a dark chocolate colour (not burgundy shown below) and badged up with our yellow Woodlife Trials logo (model not included!)

The Hoodies are described as:

Heavyweight Blend Adult Hooded Sweatshirt by Gildan.

• 270 GSM
• 50% Cotton 50% Polyester
• Double lined hood with matching drawstring
• Twin needle stitching, Pouch pocket and set in sleeve

Cost: £15-00 per hoodie with optional postage and packing £3-50 (or wait till you see us at a show)

S - To fit: 40

M - To fit: 44

L - To fit: 48

XL - To fit: 52

XXL - To fit: 56

** Please note:  Orders will close on 31 May 2012. The Hoodies will not be ordered until then; therefore they will not be available until the 2nd week of June. This will help keep the costs down **

Please fill in the form below and then send your £15-00 plus £3-50 P&P to bookings@woodlife.co.uk.

We are ordering up some Woodlife Trails Hoodies.

These will be a dark chocolate colour (not burgundy shown below) and badged up with our yellow Woodlife Trials logo (model not included!)

The Hoodies are described as:

Heavyweight Blend Adult Hooded Sweatshirt by Gildan.

• 270 GSM
• 50% Cotton 50% Polyester
• Double lined hood with matching drawstring
• Twin needle stitching, Pouch pocket and set in sleeve

Cost: £15-00 per hoodie with optional postage and packing £3-50 (or wait till you see us at a show)

S - To fit: 40

M - To fit: 44

L - To fit: 48

XL - To fit: 52

XXL - To fit: 56

** Please note:  Orders will close on 31 May 2012. The Hoodies will not be ordered until then; therefore they will not be available until the 2nd week of June. This will help keep the costs down **

Please fill in the form below and then send your £15-00 plus £3-50 P&P to bookings@woodlife.co.uk.