The wife of Tom Stewart, who has been missing for over a month, was recently offered a glimmer of hope after receiving reports that her husband was spotted in St Paul’s Bay.

Mr Stewart was reported missing on May 20, having escaped from Mount Carmel hospital while a nurse was checking onanother patient.

His wife, Phyllis, has made repeated calls to the public to keep an eye out for the 59-year-old Briton, handing out flyers and spreading the word through social media to no avail.

However, in recent days, Ms Stewart has been receiving calls from people claiming to have seen her husband roaming around the streets of St Paul’s Bay.

According to the reports, Mr Stewart has been sleeping outside the closed-down Karanne Hotel, wearing navy blue tracksuit trousers, a navy blue and white shirt and brown shoes.

Tom is a diabetic, and I believe that is why he has been missing for this long: without his medication, he would be quite disorientated

“It seems as though we are finally closer to finding my husband. Some 25 people have contacted us in the past few days saying that they saw Tom at St Paul’s Bay, close to the band club there,” Ms Stewart said.

She immediately contacted the police with the latest information who said they would be searching the area.

While the new information did give Ms Stewart some hope, she said she could not rest until her husband was back home safely, adding that she feared he could be in danger since he suffered from severe diabetes.

“Tom is a diabetic and I believe that is why he has been missing for this long, because without his medication, he would be quite disorientated,” she said, adding that her husband had never had any other problems.

As her family lives in the UK, Ms Stewart said she is relying on friends and the public to help her, adding that since she does not own a car, she had been handing out flyers on foot, which could at times be difficult.

“My friends have been very supportive, driving me all over the island. But since I do not own my own car, I cannot head over to St Paul’s Bay and drive around looking for him.

“It’s all very frustrating.”

Last month, the Health Ministry ordered an investigation and a board of inquiry was set up for the case, since Mr Stewart escaped under level one supervision.

This means that he should have been kept under constant supervision.

Anyone with information about Mr Stewart’s whereabouts should contact the police on 2122 4001-9 or 119.