The missing persons case of Levi Davis, the former X Factor contestant and rugby star, remains unsolved two years after his disappearance in Spain. The court investigation into his mysterious disappearance hit a standstill last year, despite a search involving police divers in Barcelona’s port, prompted by fears that Levi was the man seen struggling in the water by a passenger cruise liner crew.
Court officials confirmed today that their investigation is still on hold and will only resume if new information emerges. Police stated they have no plans to use the anniversary of the former Bath rugby player’s disappearance as an opportunity to make a public appeal for information, as they have “nothing new to offer.”
The last confirmed sighting of Levi was him leaving an Irish pub in Barcelona on the night of October 29, 2022, after travelling from Ibiza with just £35 in his pocket and no change of clothes. Searches in the port and the Llobregat Delta, one of Catalonia’s key wetland areas near Barcelona where police believed sea currents could have carried his body or clothing, yielded no clues.
Authorities were mobilised after four passengers on the MSC Bellissima cruise liner, which arrived in Barcelona around eight hours following the pub CCTV sighting of Levi, reported seeing a man at sea. The man was reportedly wearing a light-coloured top similar to Levi’s and was shouting for help in English, reports the Mirror.
A lifebuoy was thrown towards him, and Barcelona coastguards launched Helimer 203, their helicopter, along with the vessel Salvamar Mintaka. Additional support came from a boat operated by firefighters, police, and Red Cross vessels.
However, the search was called off when it became clear no one from the cruise liner was missing, and local authorities had no reports of anyone missing at sea or in port waters near Barcelona.
Regarding updates on the case, a spokesperson for the investigating magistrate stated: “There are no updates in this case. It’s still provisionally archived.”
Moreover, the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan police force where Levi’s disappearance was reported, commented: “Our investigation remains open but we have nothing new we can tell you about.”
They also confirmed that there are no current plans for a public appeal coinciding with the second anniversary of Levi’s disappearance. A reliable police source noted: “No-one is actively working on this case police-wise or in the courts on a day-to-day basis. That doesn’t mean police won’t look into any new information that comes their way. But the last big push was 17 months ago with the port searches.”
Another insider has expressed doubts on the investigation by saying: “The lead theory is that Levi drowned but proving that now is virtually mission impossible.”
Earlier in the year, it was reported that Levi’s family had been in discussions to participate in a television documentary to help uncover details of his enigmatic disappearance. In May, a source close to his mother Julie confirmed her contact with a production company, declaring: “We are waiting for the opportunity that affords the best chance of finding out what happened.”
After leaving the Old Irish Pub near Barcelona’s famed La Rambla around 10pm on October 29, 2022, Levi’s whereabouts became a mystery; he had journeyed on a boat from Ibiza, where he’d been visiting pals.
His phone signal was last detected by a telephone mast situated at the port’s edge, closest to the sea entry, contradicting earlier beliefs that his mobile was last pinged near Barcelona’s Sants railway station. Catalan police responded with their own initiative, embarking on a search on November 8, 2022—days before an official missing person report was filed by a friend of Levi’s from Ibiza on November 12.
Initially, the case was probed by officers at the local Barcelona police station where the incident was first reported.
The mysterious disappearance of a former Premiership rugby player has taken a new twist after it was revealed that a specialist investigative unit in Barcelona had been probing the case, which included police divers conducting searches last May. The unit kept the investigating judge apprised of both their plans and findings.
Early allegations suggested the man was £100,000 in debt to Somali criminals. In a disturbing final video, Levi claimed he was being blackmailed over a sex tape and feared for his life.
Gavin Burrows, a private investigator initially hired by the family, later alleged that he provided Spanish authorities with a “damning expose” that he believed contained sufficient evidence of blackmail and threats related to a Somali mafia debt to warrant an arrest, yet no arrests have been made. Levi’s sports career saw him playing for Bath from 2017 to 2020 before moving to Ealing Trailfinders and then Worthing Raiders.
He also appeared on X Factor: Celebrity in 2019 as part of the group Try Star, alongside Ben Foden and Thom Evans.
In 2020, he featured on E4’s dating series Celebs Go Virtual Dating and broke new ground as the first rugby union player to publicly come out as bisexual. Levi was battling depression and taking time off in Europe due to a knee injury that had put his rugby career on hold when he disappeared. Friend Richard Squire, who officially reported him missing to the Barcelona police after being alerted by Levi’s family back in the West Midlands, described his departure from Ibiza as “sudden.”