The last known sighting of Michael Dixon was in October 2009, when he left his hotel in Tamarindo, Costa Rica
The family of a British journalist who went missing in Costa Rica two years ago today have returned to the country to mark the anniversary of his disappearance, saying they have been "forced to fend for ourselves" in their search.
The last known sighting of Michael Dixon, who was based in Brussels, was on 18 October in 2009 when he left his hotel in Tamarindo during a holiday.
In a statement released by his brother David to mark the two year anniversary of Dixon going missing, the family says its has "no one to turn to" as it pursues the case.
David, who lives in East Croydon, travelled out to Costa Rica in 2009 to search for his brother but returned without any new leads.
On the one-year anniversary of Dixon's disappearance, his family called on the President of Costa Rica to help in their search.
According to the family, then-foreign minister René Castro told them that the Costa Rican police "were ill-equipped to deal with cases of this kind and that he would welcome the participation of the British police".
"The family wrote to prime minister David Cameron asking for assistance ... In response to the letter, Jeremy Browne, minister of state for Central and South America contacted the family stating that the UK police cannot intervene without a formal invitation from [Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Department] the OIJ."
In a quote published by the Daily Telegraph in July a spokesman for the OIJ said it has "sufficient and adequate resources to develop the investigation".
"Someone out there must know what happened to my brother," David added. "My family and I will never give up until we have some answers."
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