THE family of a Brit sailor who has been missing for more than two weeks say they’re concerned “foul play” is behind his disappearance.
James “Jemsie” Nunanb was last seen on a night out in Las Palmas on Gran Canaria on August 18.
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After a week, his boat was found by authorities 50 miles from the shore – with his dog Thumbelina alive on board.
Spanish cops have been given permission to track his phone and other electronic devices amid the frantic search.
Police are ramping up efforts to establish what happened to the 34-year-old from Reading with court authorisation.
Hospital and bank account checks are understood to have been done early on in the probe.
Judicial officials confirmed today: “The case of the missing British man has been assigned to Court of Instruction Number Three in Las Palmas.
“Police requested geolocation through all devices he might be carrying. The judge has granted permission.”
But one of the missing sailor’s family members has spoken out to urge rescuers to continue their search.
His sister Nikita Goddard told The Sun: “The more I hear, the more it indicates foul play.
“Please keep looking. We can’t say for certain it’s not a case of man overboard, but I just don’t believe it is a case of man overboard, I really don’t.”
The Brit sailor was on a trip round the world at the time of his disappearance.
He is known to have had a drink at an Irish pub called Paddy’s Anchor in the hours before he was last seen.
After this, Jemsie went to buy dinner at a local kebab shop, where his backpack was stolen according to Nikita.
She added that his passport was reported “lost or stolen” to authorities the next day.
“We know he’d had a drink but as a family we don’t believe he would recklessly set sail in the dark at night,” she said.
“It doesn’t make sense for it to be ‘oh he fell overboard’ because he was drunk, there are a lot of holes in the story.”
After his boat was found with the dog on board, it was towed back to Argineguin in the south of Gran Canaria.
A spokesperson for the Civil Guard said: “We are looking into this case. Several lines of investigation are being pursued.”
Jemsie had been about five-and-a-half months into his solo sailing trip when he vanished – and had been planning to travel to Brazil.
Nikita added that a distress signal was sent out in relation to his boat between August 24 and 25.
The dog found on board has since been taken to an animal shelter.
Jemsie’s father has travelled to the island searching for any signs of the missing 34-year-old.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has confirmed it is “supporting the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Spain”.
The pub where Jemsie has been seen drinking has shared his family’s appeal to find him.
But when contacted by phone, they declined to comment, saying: “It’s an open investigation and we’ve been told not to speak to anyone and I’ve just got to go with that I’m afraid.”
A worker at Rico Doner Kebab said this afternoon: “I remember this man.
“He was very drunk and was having difficulty standing up and I told him when he asked for food to stay outside on the pavement while I prepared him his kebab.”
They said he had re-entered the premises when a passing thief likely took his rucksack, but that nothing showed up on their cameras.
“I don’t know where he went to after he left here and I didn’t see him again,” they added.
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