Case of missing British father and son who vanished in Malaga three years ago takes new twist as police launch double murder probe
- Pair went missing in 2019 day after travelling to Costa del Sol for short trip
- Father reportedly carrying £20,000 in suitcase which has never been found
- Disappearance alleged to be connected with notorious British gangster
A double murder investigation has been opened following the disappearance of a British father and son in Spain’s Costa del Sol over three years ago.
The pair had travelled to Spain for a six-day road trip but haven’t been heard from since they last made contact on April 1, 2019, the day after they arrived.
The Mirror confirmed yesterday that the disappearances of Daniel Poole, 46, and his 22-year-old son Liam, from Burgess Hill in West Sussex, were being treated as murder cases by Sussex Police.
The father was reportedly carrying £20,000 cash in a suitcase, which has never been recovered, with the Mirror saying the pair had links to illegal drugs gangs.
They had been staying at the luxurious Ona Valle Romano Golf & Resort in the seaside town of Estepona, near Malaga, flying out so Danny could search for a holiday home to buy.
Daniel Poole (left) and son Liam Poole have been missing since they went on a trip together to Spain in 2019
The pair had checked into the Ona Valle Romano Hotel, pictured, before they vanished
Father-of-three Daniel, a garage owner, checked into the hotel with his son and they were last spotted at an internet cafe.
Their passports and clothes were left in their room and the grey Peugeot 308 car they hired was not returned, prompting an international search by both British and Spanish police.
Daniel Poole and his son Liam of Burgess Hill, West Sussex, have been missing since April 1. The pair were staying in the seaside town of Estepona, Spain
Upon hearing the news of the murder investigation, Daniel’s daughter and Liam’s sister Lauryn Poole, 23, told the Mirror: ‘There was hope there but now it’s gone. It’s brought on a whole new level of grief, and I’ve really struggled to accept it.’
Liam’s mother and Daniel’s ex-wife Lisa Berwick, 46, added: ‘I knew it from the start but it still hurts to hear it.’
In 2019, British detectives said that they believed the father and son’s disappearances were not planned, but that they ‘may have come to harm’.
Their vanishing has previously been linked with the notorious criminal Kevin Parle, one of Britain’s most wanted men.
In an episode of his BBC podcast Manhunt: Finding Kevin Parle, investigator Peter Bleksley made an alleged link between the gangster and the missing pair.
‘There’s a clear linkage between the network of criminals that have been harbouring and funding him [Kevin Parle] and the disappearance of Danny and Liam Poole.
‘It’s worthy of further investigation – the police need to take this very seriously,’ he told the Mirror in 2019.
He added an informant within the gang had said Parle was behind the disappearance of the father and son, saying: ‘The source said they weren’t implicating Parle directly, but told me that “the father and son from Burgess Hill won’t be seen again.”
‘I later met my source face-to-face and discussed Danny and Liam. The source told me the criminal network surrounding Kevin Parle was responsible for their disappearance.
‘I’ve also identified a number of individuals in Parle’s network, some of whom have residential and business addresses on the south coast and Sussex, not far from where Danny and Liam were living. Everything points to these two cases being linked.’
Anyone with any information can contact CrimeStoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or by visiting its website.