Koh Tao: 22-Year-Old British Tourist Tom Armstrong Missing In Thailand

[webfact]

Phuket: Family desperate to hear from missing Brit

Tom Armstrong

KOH TAO: The family of a 22-year-old British tourist spoke of their alarm on Sunday (January 13) when he failed to return home on a flight from Thailand. He has now been missing for almost a week and the alarm has turned to anguish.

Tom Armstrong, from England, had been on a dive master course on Koh Tao since last April, but was due to return over Christmas, the East Anglian Daily Times newspaper reported.

However, his mother told the newspaper he had postponed the journey back after “running into trouble” in Bangkok, and was instead due to catch a flight home on January 8.

But Mr Armstrong never boarded the flight and has not been heard from since. Police have launched an appeal for anyone who can help discover his whereabouts.

His mother, Helen Armstong-Bland, told the Daily Times that the family were desperate to hear from him.

“He was due to come home before Christmas but for whatever reason didn’t arrive,” she was quoted as saying.

“That sent alarm bells ringing, but we received an email from him saying he had run into some kind of trouble in Bangkok.

“We spoke to somebody at the dive centre to see if he had returned there okay and they informed us by e-mail that he had booked a new flight to return [to Britain] on January 9. But we did not receive details of this so we waited to hear details from him when he landed back in the UK.

“We waited for the last train from London but he didn’t arrive. That’s when we spoke to the police.

His mother said the family intended to travel to Thailand if there continued to be no contact from her son. She added: “We all really miss him and love him and want him to come home.”

Mr Armstrong has a younger sister and a younger brother in the UK, and an older brother currently living in Japan.

The Daily News said police in Britain said they were growing increasingly concerned over the whereabouts of Mr Armstrong, who had been in contact with his family through email and Facebook until his intended date of departure.

Officers are appealing for any information that would indicate where he is, and that he is alive and well.

Mr Armstrong is described as about 188 cm tall, of medium build with fair, slightly wavy medium-length hair. He sometimes has a short beard, which is more red than fair in colour.

Source: http://www.thephuket...-brit-36323.php

-- The Phuket News 2013-01-16

[webfact]

Tom Armstrong of Kelsale feared missing in Thailand

The family of a 22-year-old Suffolk man fear he has gone missing in Thailand.

Tom Armstrong's family, from Kelsale near Saxmundham, said he had been in regular email contact with them since he arrived in Thailand in April 2012.

They said he was due to catch a flight from Thailand to Heathrow on 8 January, but he did not board his flight and had not been in contact since.

Full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk...uffolk-21027103

-- BBC 2013-01-16

[KarstenBoAndersen]

Maybe contact his Thai female friends on Facebook !!

It is not first time a young chap not will leave his love one !!

[samuibeachcomber]

one can only wonder at"what sort of trouble" he might get into in bangkok.I hope for his sake and the family's he is ok.Falling in love here can drive a man crazy so lets hope it is just that.

[Samui Coconut]

one can only wonder at"what sort of trouble" he might get into in bangkok.I hope for his sake and the family's he is ok.Falling in love here can drive a man crazy so lets hope it is just that.

Just get an email from Thai Visa : "22 year old British tourist missing on Koh Tao"

Somehow misleading as he apparently went missing in BKK after 'running into trouble" there.

[phuturatica]

I obviously hope he's ok however I do wonder how these tourists manage to get themselves caught up in this kind of trouble.

[nikkoid66]

I must say that the number of situations with farangs is getting very concerning. Thailand is turning into a Wild and dangerous country. It is almost everyday that people get missing or worse in this country...

[EvilDrSomkid]

I must say that the number of situations with farangs is getting very concerning. Thailand is turning into a Wild and dangerous country. It is almost everyday that people get missing or worse in this country...

What do you mean "turning into"?

[tragickingdom]

A young man is missing? Well the chances that bangkok has him are 90%. Young man meets nice Asian girl, does not want to tell mum and dad and disappears for a few months.

[PomRakBKK]

A young man is missing? Well the chances that bangkok has him are 90%. Young man meets nice Asian girl, does not want to tell mum and dad and disappears for a few months.

He wouldn't be the first.. but lets hope its really just that and nothing serious.

Must be quite the nightmare for the parents now..

[Rooo]

one can only wonder at"what sort of trouble" he might get into in bangkok.I hope for his sake and the family's he is ok.Falling in love here can drive a man crazy so lets hope it is just that.

Just get an email from Thai Visa : "22 year old British tourist missing on Koh Tao"

Somehow misleading as he apparently went missing in BKK after 'running into trouble" there.

We do not make the news reports, please look at the source.

Thank you.

[advancebooking]

The family should spend the money and employ one of the local private investigators in bkk. If they rely on the men in brown they have no hope

[Andre0720]

I obviously hope he's ok however I do wonder how these tourists manage to get themselves caught up in this kind of trouble.

If I would have traveled to Thailand when I was 22, perhaps I would have found it easy to get in some kind of trouble, particularly in BKK.

[KhunHehe]

Here's the story:

Young man falls for Thai girl and overstays his visa.

Young man is too cheap to pay the fine and stays in Bangkok with Thai girl.

So many Brits here. So few with any money. All dreaming of ways to make it work when there are no jobs.

No. Teaching is not a job.

Khun Hehe signing off.

[transam]

Here's the story:

Young man falls for Thai girl and overstays his visa.

Young man is too cheap to pay the fine and stays in Bangkok with Thai girl.

So many Brits here. So few with any money. All dreaming of ways to make it work when there are no jobs.

No. Teaching is not a job.

Khun Hehe signing off.

WoW, voice of experience eh. .............................

[carmine]

Here's the story:

Young man falls for Thai girl and overstays his visa.

Young man is too cheap to pay the fine and stays in Bangkok with Thai girl.

So many Brits here. So few with any money. All dreaming of ways to make it work when there are no jobs.

No. Teaching is not a job.

Khun Hehe signing off.

I am sure that will be very comforting to his family.

[Andre0720]

Here's the story:

Young man falls for Thai girl and overstays his visa.

Young man is too cheap to pay the fine and stays in Bangkok with Thai girl.

So many Brits here. So few with any money. All dreaming of ways to make it work when there are no jobs.

No. Teaching is not a job.

Khun Hehe signing off.

Would you share your crystal ball?

[Rooo]

This thread is about asking members for help , really do NOT need the smart trollish remarks. I have zero tolerance for these type of posts ,I will delete them & treat the posters with the penalties they deserve.

[Monkeyrobot]

If he last arrived April what type of visa is he on ? , maybe he is in the overstay monkey house or could just be with a Issan princess.

[sfbandung]

Got himself in trouble in Bangkok? Nah.

[Whidbeyboy]

Maybe contact his Thai female friends on Facebook !!

It is not first time a young chap not will leave his love one !!

Your right, we have all seen it with a young lad. Saw a young American Navy man hanging around Perth with a nice lady, only his ship had already left port. Ahhh, the things you will do for love. Naive is the word that comes to mind as his life is probably over, at least the military one.

That being said, he sound like he keeps up contact with his parents and so we should not dismiss it for fear of him needing help. Especially in light of recent events.

[Jobiwankenobi]

Here's the story:

Young man falls for Thai girl and overstays his visa.

Young man is too cheap to pay the fine and stays in Bangkok with Thai girl.

So many Brits here. So few with any money. All dreaming of ways to make it work when there are no jobs.

No. Teaching is not a job.

Khun Hehe signing off.

Khun HeHe, here's another cliche to add to your list of already cliched wisdom:

"It's no use, Bangkok has him now."

In all seriousness, this looks bad. 22 with a Thai girl, with a ladyboy, Thai man, whatever his taste....a young fella surely would contact his mom to let her know things are OK and that he is staying. I feel really bad for his mother, this won't end well. And lets hope his mom doesn't read Thaivisa. The most uncomforting of places to go when searching for a missing loved one in Thailand, to be sure.

Edited January 16, 2013 by Jobiwankenobi

[Arkady]

The family should spend the money and employ one of the local private investigators in bkk. If they rely on the men in brown they have no hope

The police have the resources, if they can be motivated. They should be able to find out where he was staying in Bangkok and talk to people who had contact with him. Thai private dicks should be more use for following a specific trail that doesn't require a lot of manpower like combing through hundreds of guest houses does. They are mainly used for snooping on errant husbands or by women wanting to know if their boyfriends are really as rich as they claim to be.

Edited January 16, 2013 by Arkady

[l33tfarang]

Hmm did I miss something or...what does this story have to do with Koh Tao as the headline mentions?

Hope he turns up soon.

[Pdiddy]

There must be a passport trace that can be done, he came here as a tourist in April and had to leave every 30days for visa run, if he got a Ed or Biz visa on the moody, there would be a log when he had to declare his whereabouts every 90 days. Hope for the family's he hasn't got himself into some serious trouble, girls drugs or gambling debt

[jpippy]

Here's the story:

Young man falls for Thai girl and overstays his visa.

Young man is too cheap to pay the fine and stays in Bangkok with Thai girl.

So many Brits here. So few with any money. All dreaming of ways to make it work when there are no jobs.

No. Teaching is not a job.

Khun Hehe signing off.

You've obviously never taught. Stay signed off, please.

[animatic]

A Dive Master is a legitimate job, and obviously he had the training.

He didn't need to teach.

But Koh Tao is not the same as bad old Bangkok.

Easy enough to get in over your head in the Big Mango.

Hope he comes out OK.

[WildChilli]

Last email from the lad

His family could check the destination it was sent from the ip addy might be close to where he's staying or at least give them some idea of where he was at the time

Just a idea

[onionluke]

Life was easier for the Brits back in the ninties .In early 93 I too was 22 years old and I found myself on Koh Tao well skint , but with enough money for a one way flight to HK . In those days Brittish passport holders were given a one year working visa for HK and the place was heaving with backpackers and all sorts coming and going .

Good luck to the lad .

[dcsw53]

What's missing from this report is any comment about anybody checking his mobile phone records, cash withdrawals from bank etc.

Or is he at Don Muang wondering where his Thai Airways flight is ?