THE sister of a British tourist whose body was mysteriously found in the sea off Thailand believes a small clue could point to foul play.
Regan Kelly, 28, vanished in the early hours of January 3 before his naked body was found in the water off Patong.
Laurie Blackall pictured with her beloved brother Regan KellySupplied
SuppliedLaurie is appealing to speak to a man Regan spoke with before he vanished, pictured on CCTV behind Regan here[/caption]
Police at the scene after Regan’s body was foundAsia Pacific Press via ViralPress
His heartbroken sister Laurie Blackall flew to Phuket to try and piece together what happened to her brother.
Now back in the UK after repatriating Regan’s body, mum-of-one Laurie is still desperately trying to work out how he ended up in the water.
Laurie told The Sun: “I don’t believe that this was an accident at all. I really don’t believe it.”
The 31-year-old is also appealing to locate a man who was among the last people to speak to Regan, from Selsdon, South London, before he went missing.
She doesn’t believe he was involved in any way in Regan’s death, but hopes he could help fill in details of his final hours.
Regan and his friend left a club in the area after “someone started” on him and they headed back to the Mad Monkey Hostel where they were staying.
Laurie said: “Regan was still a bit upset and they had a bit of conflab over what happened in the club.
“Regan never got himself into any trouble, he was professional and not like that.
“His friend then left the hostel, but you can see on CCTV there was a man who was present in the room when my brother and his friend had a bit of a disagreement.
“The man was also seen consoling him outside the hostel.
“I’m just asking him to please come forward as it would just be nice to speak.
“It would be nice to speak to anybody that had spoken to him or anybody that was on the beach that night near the Graceland Resort.”
If you have any information email [email protected] or WhatsApp 07592 368604
Laurie previously appealed to find the man Regan was seen in the bar in conversation with over fears their exchange became heated.
It was claimed in reports the man was seen following Regan to the beach.
But Laurie said: “I think he got portrayed as quite confrontational, but it wasn’t.
“My dad and I have spoken to this guy a few times while he was out there and he said Regan was talking about quite worldly things.
“He didn’t follow my brother – there’s more CCTV that showed him veer off down a different road to go back to where he was staying with his wife and child.”
Building surveyor Regan’s body was found by a watersports instructor at around 10am, hours after he was last seen on CCTV leaving the hostel.
SuppliedLaurie described Regan as her ‘little big brother’[/caption]
The man who discovered his body told Laurie he was naked – apart from one sock.
Laurie said: “We walked the length of the beach, which was very, very vast – I reckon it was probably about five miles.
“We came across the guy who found my brother and he said that he had a sock on his right foot.
“It was a shock to us anyway that he was found naked – but to then discover that he had a sock on.
“My brother was very spiritual and would do things like walk home barefoot in the garden. He said you’ve got to be connected and ground yourself and the best way is contact with the ground.
“So we just thought there is no way he would have gone in the sea with a sock on.”
Regan had travelled to Thailand‘s paradise island Phuket with a friend and planned to spend a month there.
He was last seen on CCTV at the bar of the Mad Monkey Hotel in deep conversation with a man before he suddenly got up and left – heading towards the beach.
Another camera at a hotel closer to the seafront showed Regan running.
But a vital CCTV camera on the beach Laurie believes would have shown exactly how Regan ended up in the water was broken after being damaged in a sunbed fire last year.
Regan and Laurie in happier timesSupplied
Asia Pacific Press via ViralPressRegan planned to spend a month in Thailand[/caption]
Laurie fears her brother’s death has not been investigated properly and has been dismissed as accidental drowning.
Laurie said: “We don’t know how long Regan was on the beach, where he went on the beach.
“There was a second camera further up, and a tourist policeman went up there to check it and said it was damaged even though it was wired up.
“It just felt very convenient that these cameras weren’t working.
“It seems to me like it was an open shut case.
“The last few days we were in Thailand we just hit a real brick wall.”
Laurie and her dad flew back to the UK last week on the same day Regan’s body was repatriated.
They are now hoping an autopsy on home turf can shed some more light on what happened to the much-loved building surveyor.
Laurie added: “We’re all trying to get our heads around it.
“When I think of him as a person and what he was like, he was just so inspiring.
“Then I think of all the Christmases, birthdays, family get-togethers, and it’s just all gone.
“He was my little big brother as I used to call him. He used to look after me.”
Recent deaths of Brit tourists in Thailand
Robby Kinlan
Robby Kinlan, 21, died suddenly on the island of Koh Tao, where he had just completed an advanced free diving course, on January 9.
It is understood Robby, from Ireland, was found dead in his bed in a hotel room.
Police have not confirmed his cause of death but it is understood that they are not treating it as suspicious.
Robby had been spending his time on the island with pals “doing what he loved”, scuba diving and freediving in the clear waters off the coast.
Corey Beavis
Corey Beavis, 28, died in a horror motorcycle accident on January 4.
An inquest heard Corey, from Wales, lost control of the bike and crashed into a kerb.
The inquest at Pontypridd Coroner’s Court was told that Corey was riding in Phuket and died at the scene.
Bryn Adrian Whalley
Bryn Adrian Whalley, 57, died in a truck crash in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
He crashed into an electricity post and the blue Isuzu ended up in a ditch beside a bend at around 1.15am on October 21.
Despite being rescued by paramedics from the Phetkasem Foundation, Bryn, from Preston, died the following day from a severe head wound.
Rebecca Turner
Rebecca Turner, 36, was found dead with her boyfriend in a Bangkok hotel room after taking what she believed to be cocaine.
But it later transpired Rebecca, from Bexhill, East Sussex, had taken a deadly cocktail of nine drugs.
Horrified friends found her and her partner’s bodies when they went looking for them.
Rebecca and boyfriend Sam Melnick, 32, had decided to stop in Thailand on her way back from a wedding in Laos.
She was due to return to the UK just a few weeks after she died on March 15 last year.
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
