Police divers today began searching Barcelona harbor for missing X Factor star Levi Davis, who is feared to have drowned.
Divers also search the Llobregat Delta, one of Catalonia’s wetlands near the Catalan capital.
The search for Levi, who disappeared after arriving in Barcelona from Ibiza in October, comes weeks after his mother Julie Davis revealed that police told her they now believe a man who was seen in trouble at sea by the crew of a cruise ship that docked in Barcelona, probably being her son.
Former Bath rugby player Levi Davis, 25, went missing on October 29 after leaving a friend in Ibiza to take the ferry to Barcelona alone
Levi Davis is feared to have drowned off the coast of Barcelona after leaving a bar
There were delays in searching for Levi due to red tape, but a police spokesman said Maritime Police and the Aquatic Unit are now searching the waters.
A police spokesman added: ‘The search is being carried out by the Mossos Maritime Police and the Aquatic Unit. It is an underwater search with the Maritime Police in the boats and the divers of the Aquatic Unit involved.
“The search is taking place due to the possibility that this person fell into the water, based on information received after his disappearance, around the time he was last seen.
The Guardia Civil and the Coast Guard conducted an initial thorough search, but found no trace of him.
“The goal is to find some evidence that could support the theory of possible death by accidental drowning.
‘The Llobregat Delta is in the southern part of Barcelona, where the movement of the water means researchers think there could be something in that area.
“The search began at 10 a.m. local time, but I have no information at this time on how long it will take. We’re talking about an underwater search.’
Local reports say police are expected to conduct searches for several days.
Spanish officials indicated late last month, around the sixth month after Levi’s disappearance, that no date had been set for the port and sea search.
They revealed that an investigating judge was awaiting a report from the Coast Guard before deciding when – and if – to authorize new proceedings, including the house searches pushed for by the rugby player’s family.
Levi’s mother Julie Davis (pictured together) revealed that police told her they now believe a man who was seen in trouble in the sea by crew on a cruise ship docking in Barcelona hours after Levi was filmed walking into an Irish pub in left town, was probably her son
CCTV footage shows Levi leaving an Irish bar in Barcelona on October 29
Levi’s mother Julie revealed last month that Catalan police had told her they now believed her son was likely the man four members of the cruise ship MSC Bellissima had seen in the sea wearing the same light-colored top as Levi and screaming for help in the sea. English.
A lifebuoy was thrown at him and coastguards in Barcelona mobilized a helicopter and a vessel. A boat operated by firefighters was also sent to the scene, along with police and Red Cross ships.
The sighting came hours after Levi was filmed leaving an Irish pub in town.
The Mossos d’Esquadra initially maintained that Levi’s possible drowning was only “one line of inquiry” and that others had not been ruled out.
His mother, Julie, questioned last month why the information about the harbor sighting didn’t come out until months later.
She added, “I don’t know what to believe anymore. I know the Spanish police can be slow, but I can’t make sense of it.
“There are many answers to questions I need to know. It’s discouraging when you ask police questions and get very little feedback.’
CCTV footage showed Levi, 24 when he disappeared, leaving the Old Irish Pub near La Rambla in Barcelona around 10pm on October 29 after taking a boat from Ibiza with just €40 (£35) and without clean clothes .
Detectives have told Levi’s family that they have now discovered that his telephone signal was last picked up in the early hours of October 30 by a telephone mast at the far end of the harbor nearest the sea entrance.
It was previously thought that his mobile phone, which has not been used since his disappearance, was last pinged near Sants central station.
The search after the sighting by the cruise ship crew was reported to have lasted an entire day, but was called off after it was confirmed that no one was missing on the cruise ship and police confirmed that no one had been reported missing in port waters or in the sea at Barcelona.
Levi’s disappearance had not been reported to the police at the time, and his passport was not found near a cargo shipment at the port until days later.
Catalan police launched a search at their own expense on Nov. 8 before receiving an official missing persons report from an Ibiza-based friend of Levi’s on Nov. 12.
Police detectives admitted they treated Levi’s disappearance in February as “disturbing” as they confirmed the case had been placed in the hands of a specialist crime unit working in conjunction with the investigating judge.
A spokesman for the Mossos d’Esquadra confirmed at the time that there had been a significant change in the way the probe was conducted.
He said: ‘This case was initially investigated by a group of officers at the police station where the disappearance was first reported in Barcelona.
“That is the general procedure in cases where there are no clear or very clear signs that a disappearance is related to a crime.
“Now this case is being led by a specialized investigative unit in Barcelona.
“With the information we have, it doesn’t appear that this person disappeared voluntarily and doesn’t want to be found.
“We are dealing with an adult male whose disappearance has no logical explanation and who we therefore treat as disturbing.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the victim of a crime and it’s important to clarify that the group now investigating this person’s disappearance is not a homicide squad or homicide squad, as that would mean there is a likelihood or certainty that he’s dead.
“What it is is a unit tasked with this case after the initial investigation by officers at the station where this person was reported missing.
‘It is now a higher level of research and more specialized research.’
Davis starred on Celebrity X Factor in 2019 alongside fellow rugby stars Ben Foden and Thom Evans in a group known as Try Star. He was also on E4’s Celebs Go Dating in 2020
The police revelation followed claims that Levi was £100,000 in debt to Somali criminals and Levi said he had been blackmailed over a sex tape and his life was in danger in a chilling final video he recorded shortly before disappearing.
Levi played premiership rugby union for Bath between 2017 and 2020 when he joined Ealing Trailfinders. A year later, he signed for Worthing Raiders.
The rugby player turned reality star made an appearance on X Factor: Celebrity in 2019 with fellow rugby players Ben Foden and Thom Evans as part of the group Try Star. In 2020, he appeared on the E4 dating series Celebs Go Virtual Dating, becoming the first rugby union player to come out as bisexual.