Horror as Brit, 63, found dead in Spanish holiday hotspot after going missing last month

The body of a British man who went missing nearly a month ago on the Costa Blanca has been found. Marc Tulloch Hewson, 63, originally from Wantage, Oxfordshire, had last been seen around September 20 in Torrevieja, south of Alicante.

His family and friends launched desperate pleas for help on social media, and earlier this month, Spanish police also appealed for information on his whereabouts. Tributes were being paid to the University of Gloucester graduate today as it was confirmed his body had been found. Kelsey Johnson, who was involved in the search for him, said: "Thank you to everyone for sharing and reaching out with ideas and kind words in the search for our friend. "Sadly his body has been found. Not the outcome we hoped for but the support whilst he was missing was of huge support to his family and friends. RIP Marc Hewson."

Marc's sister Fiona Crowther, who was assisting his wife Catherine in a ground search when his body was found, said in a message to friend Anne Constantine, which Anne reposted on social media yesterday: "Hi Anne. Thank you very much for all your support these last few weeks.

"Catherine and I were present at the ground search this morning. A body has been found and identified as Marc's. Catherine has a lot of good people supporting her. Everybody did everything that they possibly could."

Marc's body is understood to have been found in a wooded area close to the Torrevieja Salt Lake where the Civil Guard and local volunteers had spent several weeks conducting coordinated searches.

There is no suggestion at this stage that the expat Brit's death is being treated as suspicious. The results of the post-mortem are unlikely to be made public, as is normal in Spain.

On October 7, the Civil Guard made its first formal public appeal for information about Marc as it confirmed its investigation into his mystery disappearance was still "active."

His sister, in an earlier appeal on an expat group Facebook site, said: "Together we can find Marc. You can help us."

On September 20, the body of 65-year-old British man Andrew Wade, who went missing from his Costa del Sol home in Marbella on August 15, was found near Estepona during a police search.

Three days later, British holidaymaker Josh Rogers, from Bloxwich near Walsall in the West Midlands, was found dead in woodland in the Costa Brava resort of Lloret de Mar after going missing from his hotel.