Heartbroken UK family of drowned young man in Malaga begins to unravel mystery

Devastated relatives of Travis Kiss contacted Euro Weekly News to share their raw anguish and launch an urgent appeal across the Costa del Sol for their missing father.

Family members in the UK sat beside themselves with worry for over a week with fear and confusion after learning of their 25-year-old brother’s tragic death yet receiving few answers about their 69-year-old father, Stephan Kiss, who was accompanying him.

The tragic news of young Travis’s death came through on May 2 after a body was found on Huelin Beach in Malaga. But there was no news of their father, who should have been with him.

UK relatives describe double ordeal

Siblings Aileen and Cheril explain how both men had been living in France with residency papers there before considering a move to Malaga. Reports indicate the pair were sleeping temporarily in a black Subaru car fitted with British plates while on the Costa del Sol. Little further detail had emerged about their exact movements or a woman believed to have been with them at some point in Malaga.

Aileen Kiss, sister of Travis, outlines the sequence of events in a heartfelt statement. Both father and son went for breakfast on the morning of April 29. Travis stepped away to the toilet only to return and discover his dad had vanished. Travis is believed to have immediately visited the British Consulate, shared a reference card with his older stepbrother in the UK, and received instructions to wait in the car in case his father returned. Stephan Kiss never returned and carried no working phone because his SIM card was still in Travis’s device.

Family contact with Travis ended at 16.18 GMT that afternoon. Later that evening, around 10.30pm, Travis was then spotted dressed in swimwear on Misericordia Beach in the west of Malaga, and asked a stranger to watch his belongings as he entered the sea. He never returned. Search teams scoured the coastline for three days until his body was discovered on neighbouring Huelin Beach on May 2. The Malaga coastline is notorious for its strong currents that often catch swimmers unaware.

Police view incident as non-suspicious

Spanish authorities informed the family through the British Consulate that strong currents in the Alboran Sea make the passing of Travis non-suspicious. Initial confusion is said to have arisen because rescuers found Travis’s French residency card and first believed him to be a French national. This delayed the notification to the British Embassy until Tuesday, May 5, six days after his death.

Loving tribute to Travis Kiss

Travis Kiss struck everyone who knew him as a smart, loving young man always ready to help others. He possessed a great sense of humour; he adored playing football and enjoyed making music. His family in the UK feels utterly devastated yet could begin to grieve properly while father Stephan Kiss remained missing for eight days.

Father, Stephan, has now been located by police. No information has been released explaining why he disappeared hours before his 25-year-old son decided to swim off the shores of Malaga, but the police are treating the situation as a tragic chain of events rather than anything suspicious.

Family members have shared recent photos of Stephan Kiss and Travis Kiss and a group picture featuring the late Travis Kiss, directing a direct message to their father far and wide across social media: “We love you. We can’t wait to see you. Just get in contact so we know you are safe.” The family now knows what happened to their youngest brother and can finally begin to grieve in peace.