Iain Stanley, 79, was last seen near the Perla Marina Hotel in Nerja on the eastern end of the Costa del Sol on February 11.

17:27, Sat, Feb 14, 2026 Updated: 18:03, Sat, Feb 14, 2026

Iain Stanley

Iain Stanley last seen near the Perla Marina hotel. (Image: Facebook)

Police are searching for an elderly British tourist who went missing in southern Spain three days ago. Iain Stanley, 79, was last seen near the Perla Marina Hotel in Nerja on the eastern end of the Costa del Sol on February 11. He is understood to have disappeared after leaving a holiday home, with the last sighting recorded at about 2pm that day.

His wife reported him missing on Thursday and the Civil Guard has now launched an investigation to establish what happened. A taxi driver has been questioned by investigators after saying he believed he had taken a man matching his description to the nearby town of Torrox, but this is now understood to have been a false lead.

View over the resort town Nerja on Mediterranean coast of Spain

Nerja is in the Costa del Sol. (Image: Getty)

Mr Stanley, said to be in good health, was wearing black jeans, a shirt and a blue jacket when he was last seen. He was without his mobile phone or passport.

News of his disappearance is now circulating in several local expat Facebook groups, with relatives also appealing for information on his whereabouts.

It was not immediately clear this afternoon where in the UK Mr Stanley is from. One well-wisher who helped by publishing the appeal on social media said he was in Nerja for a two-month holiday.

Last Saturday, a British holidaymaker was airlifted to hospital after being found in a ravine in Tenerife nearly 30 hours after she went missing during a three-hour hike.

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An appeal had been put out a day earlier for information on Susan Hornsby, 76, from Dorset after she disappeared on the Friday morning during a trip to the island with her husband Peter.

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At around 2pm local time on Saturday afternoon, Louise Bakewell revealed the pensioner had been found alive and was being airlifted to hospital.

She said: "I managed to find her IMEI number and she’s just been found, alive after 28 hours. She is being airlifted to hospital. I’m so relieved. She was found in a ravine and has been airlifted to hospital. That’s all I know at the moment."