Police fear missing landlord may be dead

Police investigating the disappearance of a pub landlord and £30,000 from a Christmas collection fear he might have killed himself.

Police are investigating the disappearance of Malcolm Levesconte, 59, who is said to have caught a ferry to France following the theft of nearly £30,000 from the Christmas fund at his pub, the Royal Oak in Shrewton, near Salisbury.

The landlord booked a return ferry ticket from Portsmouth to St Malo, in France and boarded the ferry on 9 December. But detectives are now trying to clarify whether Levesconte did get off the ferry in St Malo and are considering the possibility that he may have jumped off the vessel after it left Portsmouth.

Detective Sergeant Mike Standing said: “We continue to treat Malcolm Levesconte’s disappearance as a missing person inquiry but at this stage we do have to accept there is a possibility that he did not make it to France and may have taken his own life by jumping into the sea from the ferry.

“I would like to appeal to anyone who has information to come and speak to us – his family are facing the terrible prospect that he may have committed suicide. It is therefore imperative that we hear from you if you have heard from Mr Levesconte.”

A fund has been set up in the village to help those who have lost out after their savings disappeared. According to the BBC, donations have been received from around the world, including one anonymous donation of £10,000.