Mother appeals to son to return home

The life of the Camilleri family from St Paul's Bay has been turned upside down since the early morning hours of last Sunday. Everything was normal before then.

The youngest of their four sons, Christian, went out as usual on Saturday night and like many young people was out till the early hours of Sunday morning.

On the way home, he had a minor accident, skidding on the Coast Road, and slightly damaging his Land Rover Freelander, which was relatively new.

His mother Frances was about to hear early morning Sunday Mass, when her son called her to tell her about the accident. Accompanied by her husband Charlie and two of Christian's brothers, she went to see what had happened, and ensure that Christian was alright.

"We met him on the way to where the accident happened. We asked him if he was OK and told him to come with us so we'd take him home, but he wanted to walk. It was not far," Mrs Camilleri recalled.

"I did not suspect anything. I thought he wanted to walk to unwind, to relax. So we went to see how badly the car was damaged, and realised that the damage was rather minimal. We turned and went back, but did not see him again as we were driving home.

"And when he did not come home, I tried to call him on his mobile. He did not answer it. His father and brothers tried to call him several times, but there was no reply and finally the phone battery was drained," Mrs Camilleri said.

No one can express herself better than an anguished mother.

"I can't tell you how bad this week has been for me. For all of us," she said. "We have been everywhere with the police, members of the Civil Protection Department and volunteers looking for him. All my children are special to me and I love them all, like any mother does. But he is the youngest, even though he is 18, and the youngest remains your baby," she said.

The Camilleris are concerned because too much time has gone by since he disappeared.

"The money he had could not have lasted him so long. I wonder whether he's had anything to eat or drink. I simply hope he's with some friends and he'd return to us and end our anguish," his mother said.

Mrs Camilleri said she could tell he had been upset because of the accident. "I want to put his mind at rest. It's nothing serious. The car is already being repaired. So he need not worry about that either," she said.

Mrs Camilleri said Christian did not have any major problems with his parents or with his brothers.

"He is a rather sensitive but diligent boy who never had any problems with anyone, starting from his employers and ending with us," Mrs Camilleri said.

"All I can say is that this has been the worst week of my life. My appeal to my son Christian is to call us to let us know that he is all right and to come back to us. His absence is causing us a lot of heartache," she said.

Christian Camilleri is six foot tall, has short hair, brown eyes and was last seen wearing a black top and jeans. Anyone who might have any information is asked to call the police on 2122-4001.