Fresh twist in Lee Andrews ‘missing’ case as phone is ‘turned back on’ after dad claimed he’d been arrested
Lee Andrews' phone was allegedly turned back on just hours after his father said he'd been arrested and locked up in a Dubai prison.
Katie Price said her husband of four months had been kidnapped in the UAE city after he was declared a 'missing person'.
The reality star said she last heard from him on a FaceTime call earlier this month when he said people were 'coming' for him and that he was trapped in a 'dirty old van'.
According to the mum-of-five, the Dubai businessman, originally from Manchester, was reported missing both to authorities in Dubai and to the British Embassy.
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His father Peter, however, told the Daily Mail on Saturday (23 May) that he has 'not been kidnapped but he is under arrest'.
"I don't know on what charge," Peter, who lives in Dubai, said. "I'm not sure where he is being held.
"But he will call me later today. He is not at my house."
Chief of Dubai Police, Brigadier Khalid Khalifa al Avadhi, also told the outlet that he is the subject of a number of arrest warrants for fraud.
"There are many cases against him," the police chief said.
Now, a source told The Sun on Sunday that messages have started to deliver to his smartphone, days after Price said she hadn't been able to get through to him.
“I had been messaging Lee and was getting no response,” they claimed.
“But on Sunday morning, my messages had gone from a single tick to a double – so that device is back on and being used.
“Lee has multiple phones but this is the one that is being used now.”
Price, meanwhile, insisted on Friday that her husband was still missing, and wrote on Instagram: "THIS IS FAKE NEWES [sic] LEE IS STILL MISSING ME AND HIS FAMILY KNOW WHATS GOING ON AND WORKING WITH THE AUTHORITIES INVOLVED."
Private investigator Mark Williams-Thomas, known for his work on the cases of Madeleine McCann and Jay Slater, suggested that the whole situation looks suspicious.
Taking to his TikTok page (@mwilliamsthomas), Williams-Thomas said: "One or more persons are not telling the truth and there is obviously a backstory to why this has all come about," he said, calling Price 'incredibly gullible'.
"Has she just fallen for this person again? There's no doubt that this will have a huge impact on her mental health and the whole process.
"We could have a potential kidnap, or we could have completely wasting police time or wasting everybody else's time."
A spokesperson for FCDO previously told LADbible Group in a statement: "We are supporting the family of a British man and are in contact with the local authorities."
LADbible has contacted Dubai Police and representatives for Katie Price for comment.
Katie Price's missing husband: a timeline
12 May: Missed UK television appearance
The Dubai businessman, originally from Manchester, is supposed to be on an episode of Good Morning Britain alongside his wife.
When asked if Andrews got arrested at the airport, Price says: "No. You know, they just said it to me in there.
"So, I just said, 'Lee, apparently a British man has been detained. Can you just confirm that it's not you?' Because I obviously know it's not him.
"So, he's just done a voice note back and laughing emojis. 'No, it's not me' and a voice note. And he's just sent me pictures."
In a vlog on her YouTube channel, Price shares footage of herself calling Andrews after her GMB appearance, telling him: "None of them believe you're coming at all. The fact is, you've just got to get here and prove everyone wrong.
"They're like, 'Kate, do you know anything about this man?'"
13 May: Last known contact
Price says on her channel that Andrews is 'at the airport going through the border control to get his exit stamp'.
"So, he said he's 100 percent, a billion percent, coming today," she adds.
14–16 May: Communication suddenly stops
Price says she and Andrews are normally in 'constant contact' and it's 'worrying' that she can't get through to him on the phone.
"We're now wondering, as far-fetched as it is, he's a missing person," she adds. "I don't know if he's been kidnapped."
16 May: Price pleads 'please help me find my husband'
Over the weekend, Price says, 'the truth is, Lee has been missing for three days'.
"Lee was trying to get through the border near Hatta and, oh God, this is so discombobulating," she continues. "His location went off at 10:03, Wednesday night, that's the last contact anyone's had, his family and me.
"This is the third day now, obviously, he phoned me before the location went off. He's in the middle of nowhere, obviously, I'm worried."
Price adds that 'the last FaceTime call I had with him… he had ties around his hand and a hood'
"He sounded really worried and said like whispering, ‘They're coming for me now. They're coming for me. I've got to go’,” she explains.
17–18 May: Missing person report filed
According to The Sun, a missing person report has been lodged by his family at the British Embassy in Dubai.
"Lee is officially a missing person now," a source tells the outlet.
"Katie is in constant contact with his family and is desperately worried. And she’s mortified — she’s seen people calling it a stunt and that she must be in on it, but she’s absolutely not.
"This is such a worrying, upsetting situation."
19 May: Accusations emerge that Andrews is on the run
In a lengthy expose published by The Sun, journalist Clemmie Moodie accuses Andrews of scamming her out of £1,000, as well as claiming that he is currently hiding out in Dubai.
"Lee has NOT been kidnapped; he is simply in hiding after also ghosting his devastated wife for the past six days," she claims. "He is not dead. He is not in jail. And he has not been detained."
"He is squatting in a slightly run-down villa, frantically planning a route out of this ginormous hole he appears to have buried himself in, and is understood to be liaising with his few trusted contacts on a 'burner phone'," the report alleges.
This follows claims from numerous partners that Andrews scammed them out of money, which he denies.
Price details final FaceTime call with Andrews, denies 'publicity stunt' accusations
Price says she hasn't spoken to Andrews since Wednesday night, telling fans in a recent YouTube update that he was attempting to leave the UAE.
"The last time I heard from him, he FaceTimed me, he had a hood on and said, ‘I've just been captured or arrested’ and had ties around his hand, not handcuffs, and said ‘they're coming back for me’," she explains.
Price denies accusations that this is a publicity stunt, calling the claims 'disgusting'.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for FCDO has given the following statement to LADbible Group: "We are supporting the family of a British man and are in contact with the local authorities."
20 May: Price clears up rumours that Andrews was online on social media
Former Apprentice contestant Luisa Zissman, who has joined the search for Andrews, pointed out how Lee's social media appeared to have been active.
However, it seems this possible clue turned into a dead end as Price posted that she had access to her husband's Facebook account, so she was responsible for the recent activity.
"I have Lee's Facebook, it's not him on this it's me," she wrote, as the search continues.
23 May: Andrews' dad claims he's been arrested in Dubai
"Lee is OK. He has not been kidnapped but he is under arrest. I don't know on what charge," his dad Peter claims to the Daily Mail. "I'm not sure where he is being held. But he will call me later today."
However, Price responds to the claims on Instagram, writing: "THIS IS FAKE NEWES [sic] LEE IS STILL MISSING ME AND HIS FAMILY KNOW WHATS GOING ON AND WORKING WITH THE AUTHORITIES INVOLVED."
Peter doubles down that his son is 'not at my house' as Andrews had been living with him before he became involved with Price.
Meanwhile, Price releases a song on Instagram, writing: "Missing my husband so much it breaks my heart knowing he is still missing so I did this song quick as words mean so much to the situation."
24 May: A source tells The Sun that Andrews' phone has been turned back on
A source tells The Sun: "I had been messaging Lee and was getting no response.
"But on Sunday morning, my messages had gone from a single tick to a double – so that device is back on and being used. Lee has multiple phones but this is the one that is being used now."
Topics: Katie Price, Celebrity
Anish Vij