Lee Andrews' worried mother Trisha was pictured in Nottinghamshire on Tuesday after issuing a desperate plea for her 'missing' son to get in touch following his disappearance. The self-proclaimed millionaire has been missing for seven days, with his wife Katie Price urging fans to help locate her 'kidnapped' husband, who she says was last known to be tied up in the back of a van.
Trisha's plea and accusations
Trisha, 61, who has accused Katie of 'exploiting' her son, was seen with her daughter as she shared her concerns for Lee's wellbeing after filing a missing person's report with the British Embassy. Asked if she had a message for those who knew her son's whereabouts, Trisha said: 'Please bring my son back.' Asked if she believed Katie's theory he had been kidnapped, she said: 'I don't know, he could have been. I've not seen the video. I don't know the laws out there but I wouldn't have thought they'd use cables. Wouldn't they put handcuffs on?'
Social media backlash
Trisha – a spiritual medium – has also made her feelings clear, accusing Katie of 'exploiting' her son. Underneath a Facebook post promoting her live clairvoyance show, one fan wrote: 'Think everyone needs to leave her [Trisha] alone as she's not responsible for Price's drama-queen antics.' Trisha responded with a message reading: 'Thank you, Jane. It's Katie exploiting and I get all the backlash.' She has since clarified her comments, telling The Sun that Katie 'shares too much' on social media, and said her daughter has been in touch with the glamour model since Lee's disappearance.
Lee's last messages and search efforts
Lee is understood to have texted his perplexed wife to claim he has been arrested near a hostile 'black site' in the Emirates, where he is currently marooned while serving a reported travel ban. Price's close friend and former Apprentice contestant Luisa Zissman, who relocated to Dubai last year, has joined the search for Andrews, claiming she is on a mission to find him. Sharing an update with social media followers, she said: 'Guys its the end of day one of looking for Lee Andrews in this missing persons case. I'm trying to bring Katie Price's husband home. So, discovered a few things, he was seen as 'active' on Facebook messenger six hours ago, which does indicate his kidnappers are definitely letting him have access to social media. Makes you wonder why he hasn't reached out to ask for help. Who knows. But I did see that whilst I did some digging on Facebook.'
Katie's last communication with Lee
Katie revealed her husband had vanished over the weekend, five days after she last heard from him, and claimed he was 'detained in a van with his hands tied' after his disappearance. The former glamour model has now released her last communication with Andrews in the hope it will help track him down, while his mother Trisha has issued a desperate plea for his return. In messages sent from 12.36am (Gulf Standard Time) to 1.01am (GST) last Thursday morning, he told her: 'Been arrested. I'll be in touch. I'm ok xx.' Katie replied within five minutes asking him: 'Where? Why? I'm worried.' Lee also shared his live location and told her to contact the embassy and that he was being taken to a 'black site'. The Sun also reports he gave his father's number to Katie as an emergency contact. The live location then ended with the message: 'Keep that on babe. Love you'. Lee later appeared to backtrack on claims that he was arrested, telling Price: 'It's a black site, I love you, I sort it. I'm in the van… just being detained wtf.'
Reactions and alternative theories
A friend told The Sun: 'Katie has been completely spiralling, as you can imagine. This is NOT a publicity stunt – as if she needs any more PR – and no matter what Lee has or hasn't done, she still loves him. These WhatsApps prove that she is as blindsided as the rest of us as to Lee's movements. She is not in on it, whatever 'it' is. She wants anyone with information to contact her or the police with information that might help find him.' It comes after The Sun suggested Lee has not been kidnapped, but is instead squatting in a run-down villa in Dubai. He is said to be talking to a few of his 'trusted network' on a burner phone and is 'frantically planning a route out of this ginormous hole he appears to have buried himself in'. Lee was due to reunite with his wife for a Good Morning Britain interview on Monday, but failed to get on a flight and later claimed he had 'things to do' but was still on his way. He also firmly denied reports he had a travel ban. Price, who married Andrews in January following a whirlwind ten-day romance, then branded their relationship a 'soap opera' after he became radio silent and did not travel to the UK. The Dubai-based businessman is wanted by Interpol, after Hertfordshire Police – who had been previously investigating claims from an ex-girlfriend – escalated their case.
