A British man is feared missing in the Philippines after he lost contact with his mother as he told her he planned to walk to an evacuation shelter in the midst of Typhoon Kammuri.
Sara Ransom has not heard from her son Harry Jackson, 22, since their phone call cut out moments before he attempted to make his way to safety through the powerful storm on Tuesday.
Typhoon Kammuri, known locally as Tisoy, killed four people, destroyed homes and took out power lines across the Philippines when it hit Luzon island at nearly 133mph late on Monday.
Ms Ransom had spoken to her son in a WhatsApp video call at around 11pm on Monday, which would have been 7am on Tuesday in the Philippines.
Sara Ransom has not heard from her son Harry Jackson (right) since their phone call (left) cut out moments before he attempted to make his way to safety through Typhoon Kammuri
The 22-year-old had told his mother earlier in the night that he was packing an emergency bag in case he needed to evacuate as he lived near a river.
In their final call, he told Ms Ransom that he now had plans to walk just over a mile to an evacuation shelter, before the phone signal cut out. He has not been heard from since.
‘The last contact I had with him was after 11pm UK time on Monday, that would be after 7am. It was a video message’, she said. ‘We message a lot, three or four times a week, over WhatsApp video calls’.
‘I spoke to him earlier, about midnight his time, and he was packing an emergency bag in case they needed to evacuate. His house is right by the river.
The 22-year-old had told his mother (pictured together) earlier in the night that he was packing an emergency bag in case he needed to evacuate as he lived near a river
The worried mother posted appeals on social media after she failed to hear from her son
‘There’s a narrow road – the flood defences stood by his gate. Some parts of the roof of the outbuilding had gone from the farm. He said the flood had gone over three and a half metres.
‘He said that “we have to get out and we have to walk to the evacuation centre about two kilometres.” He said he had his boots on. And then the signal cut out and I haven’t heard from him since.’
Mr Jackson had arrived at the town of Daet, on the east coast of the island, on October 28 to help a friend set up a farm and he planned to live there until July next year.
His mother added that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Kent Police had both reported her son missing, and had passed on details of his disappearance to Interpol.
‘Kent Police and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have been helpful, reported him missing and passed to Interpol’, she said. ‘The FCO have passed all Harry’s details to the embassy in the Philippines. I haven’t heard from anyone yet’.
In their final call, he then told Ms Ransom that he planned to walk just over a mile to an evacuation centre before the signal cut out (Pictured: Mr Jackson with his brother Jude)
‘They’ve treating him as missing due to the nature of his last contact about having to walk through the typhoon by the potentially flooding river.
‘I understand that there’s no communications into and out of Daet right now. We just want to know that he made it to the evacuation centre.’
The English teacher added that she is ‘sick with dread’ about what may have happened to her son.
She said: ‘I’m sure he’s safe. He’s got to be. But we don’t know for sure. Nobody’s seen him. He’s really well liked over there because he’s so nice, he likes people and people like him.
‘People will know him. He goes surfing with Filipino friends. He was invited to the funeral of a local dignitary last week. He’s so nice.’
The worried mother has been told by the Philippines Red Cross that all satellite signals are down and there is no communication in or out of the town.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Kent Police have both reported Mr Jackson missing, and have passed on details of his disappearance to Interpol
Ms Random added that she only slept two hours due to the worry, and she is hoping for any information about her son.
Mr Jackson’s brother Jude Feist, eight, has even written a letter to Elf on the Shelf asking for Father Christmas to help find him.
It reads: ‘Elf please give this letter to Santa it’s important! Tell Santa that can he find out if my brother’s safe or not and if he’s safe I won’t have anything for Christmas.
‘Send this letter to Santa without fail. I’m relying on you elf please don’t let me down.’
Mr Jackson wants to be a sound engineer and would love to run a music festival one day, according to his worried mum.
Sara said: ‘He took all his tech equipment and set up a studio for the town. He got in contact with the local college and he was going to teach them basic sound recording for anyone who wanted to learn.
‘He’s fantastic with kids. He helps Jude with his homework. We chat every three to four days. He’ll give me a quick call or show me a sunrise.
‘We just talk about anything he’s doing. He’s just nice, he’s just normal.’