A British gamekeeper sparked an international manhunt after he signed up for the French Foreign Legion without telling his worried family.
Charles Luck, 20, from York, was last seen by his relatives in June when he said he was on his way to the South of France to start a new gamekeeping job.
But he instead secretly signed up with the French Foreign Legion, which was established in 1831 and created for foreign recruits.
His family became extremely worried after he lost contact because they felt he simply vanished for two months.
Charles Luck (left), from York, told his family, including his sister India (right), that he was going to work as a gamekeeper in the South of France
Mr Luck has since apologised and admitted that his actions were ‘idiotic’, according to his family members.
They filed a missing persons’ report with a local police force on August 1 which subsequently sent out a public appeal to help track him down.
His disappearance provoked international searches which incorporated both British and French authorities.
His father Michael, a former British Reservist, today told how he feared the worst when his vanished for two months and expected him to ‘turn up in a coffin’.
But Charles’ sister India, 18, posted on her Facebook page on September 29 to say her brother had been in touch to let them know he was safe and well.
She claims Charles was given a new identity, fictional backstory and was required to keep his bid to become a Legionnaire a complete secret – even from family.
Charles has since been discharged from the Legion and is due back in the UK in the ‘next 10 days’.
Her Facebook post read: ‘CHARLES HAS BEEN FOUND!I spoke to Charles this morning and he has asked me to post on his behalf.
‘Four months ago he left for a ‘job’ (he said ‘as a gamekeeper’) in the South of France.
‘Until last week, we had no idea what had happened to him or where he was. He was reported as a missing person.
‘We now know what happened. Charles had joined the French Foreign Legion. He was required to keep it a complete secret (even to us).
‘Upon arrival, he was stripped of his possessions and his passport. He was given a new identity and a fictional backstory.
‘He told me that he was prepared for this but was not prepared for how long he was going to be out of contact.
‘Charles completed his basic training and became a Legionnaire. Over the last three months, he has continued training in the South of France but due to a number of complications, he then requested that he be discharged.
‘Against his will, he was held in the Legion in spite of the fact that he was legally allowed to leave.
‘Without knowing any of this, it was at this point that we contacted the police as he had been gone for longer than the time he had initially told us.
‘Charles feels terrible for everyone who that has been worried and says that ‘he’s sorry for being such an idiot’.
‘He was officially discharged at 10am this morning and is going to return home within the next 10 days we hope.
Charles Luck, ringed centre, was thought to be missing but had actually signed up to join the French Foreign Legion
‘Thank you so so so much to everyone who shared our posts on Facebook and for everyone who texted or called.
‘There are also so many other people who have helped in other ways. Everyone in our family is so grateful and I know Charles is too.’
His father said Mr Luck was only able to let family know he was safe after buying a phone when he was let out of the barracks for the first time in three and a half months just under two weeks ago.
Charles was reportedly based in Auban near Marseille and would have travelled across to Mali to fight ‘hand to hand’ combat if he had not negotiated his return home, which is likely to be this weekend.
Mr Luck said his son wanted to leave the Legion after completing basic training because of ill-treatment and had told him ‘I’ve screwed up big-time and should never have come here’.
Speaking at his home in York, the retired businessman and father-of-seven, said: ‘We thought he had got a job as a gamekeeper in southeastern France.
‘That’s the story he told us and his best friends all the way along. He’s got six siblings and he told all of them the same story.
‘It turns out he never had a job in the southeast of France. It would appear he intended to go into the Foreign Legion.
‘He went to Paris by the Eurostar and went to the headquarters of the French Legion and unwittingly signed a piece of paper and they told ‘sorry you can’t leave, you’ve just signed up for five years’.
‘He completed his training thinking he could then just leave but they made it very difficult for him.
‘They wouldn’t give him his phone back, or his passport. They had taken everything off him, even the clothes he stood up in.
‘He phoned me a week last Wednesday when he bought a phone when he was let out of the barracks in France for the first time in three and a half months and in an absolute panic not known if he was going to get out or not.
‘He then spoke to a captain from the Foreign Legion who eventually agreed that he could be released.
‘He is en-route to Marseille and we are expecting him back this Saturday or Sunday.’
Michael added: ‘We all thought he was going to come back in a coffin. There had been no communication.
‘He is my youngest son and I’ve been frightened for him.
‘We didn’t know he was in the Foreign Legion and he could have been dead in a ditch somewhere, so it’s been a worrying time for his whole family.’
Charles, who turns 21 in November, was reportedly in the British Reserve based at Imphal Barracks in York for two years, aged 18 to 20.
He also completed a one-year course in gamekeeping at an agricultural college in York, which he finished this year.
Speaking on Friday, India, who works in York, said: ‘Charles feels terrible for everyone who that has been worried.
‘We had no idea where he was, my parents were going crazy.
‘He phoned us and said and said ‘I’ve managed to get hold of my phone, and this is what happened’,’ added India.
‘The gamekeeping job was a cover story.’
Charles posed as a gamekeeper on social media – but he was intent on another profession when he went to France
But not everyone is as forgiving and Charles has been slammed by some locals for wasting public money.
Accountess wrote on a local newspaper website: ‘He sounds like an idiot, not intelligent at all. How much public money was wasted looking for this person?
‘If he wanted to join the military he could have joined the British armed forces and then his family would have reason to be proud.’
Muckybutt added: ‘Selfish idiot!’
Kev Benson said: ‘How cruel of the man to worry his family like that, did he really think they wouldn’t bother if he just disappeared?
‘And how stupid and inconsiderate to cause an international hunt, when the resources could have been used on a real criminal case.’
The French Foreign Legion has been contacted for comment.