The family of a missing Arbroath man are hoping that messages on his phone might provide clues to his disappearance.
Jon Edwards, 32, vanished from his flat in Lagos in the Algarve on September 15 last year.
His mother Lesley returned from a trip to Portugal last week when she collected some of his belongings that had been left in the flat.
A court order sought by the British Consulate was required before the police in Lagos would release Jon’s passport, wallet, mobile phone and a rucksack containing old bus tickets.
Jon’s sister Kenna Balion has now collected the items from her mother and is planning to go through his mobile phone in the hope that some light can be shed on what happened to Jon.
“He had a Sony Ericsson smartphone so there are text messages and a Facebook app which might have messages on it as well,” she said.
“We are hoping we might see something that the Portuguese police have missed.”
Mrs Edwards was initially told by the police that they couldn’t hand over Jon’s items because they were “no longer treating him as a missing person case”.
The family think this might be because of Interpol’s investigation into a ransom demand from a man who claimed to be a Boko Haram militant in Nigeria last year.
“They said the case was under investigation. They didn’t elaborate on what that means,” Kenna said.
“The police in Portugal haven’t kept us informed at all about their investigation.”
Disappointingly for the family the police did not have Jon’s clothes, shoes or other possessions.
Kenna said she didn’t know what had happened to these items but assumed they had been left in his flat.
“I assume his clothes have just been thrown out,” she added.
“The flat Jon was living in was owned by the person who ran the restaurant where he was working as a chef. He has subsequently sold his business and moved elsewhere.
“We don’t know what happened to him or Jon’s stuff. We thought the police had everything.
“My mum had booked extra luggage on the flight coming back for all his belongings, including his clothes and shoes, but everything she collected fits in the backpack.”
Kenna added: “Initially when my mum went to the police station with the British Consulate they wouldn’t give her the stuff.
“Mum had to get the consulate to go to court and get a court order in Portimao to get his possessions back.”
Three days before he went missing Jon had temporarily knocked himself unconscious after falling down a hill and he had missed work because of headaches.
On Monday September 15 the Angus man’s flatmate saw him before she left for work but when she returned in the afternoon he was gone.
A Foreign and Commonwealth spokesman said: “We are continuing to provide support and assistance to Jon Edwards’ family…This includes staying in close contact with relevant authorities in Portugal.”