Woman told brother drowned on Thai beach says ‘key clue’ proves it wasn’t accident

The death of a Brit tourist which was deemed accidental by Thai officials isn't 'as simple as they’re making out', his sister has claimed.

Regan Kelly's sibling is still fighting for answers about what really happened to him one year after he was found floating naked in the sea at the popular Patong Beach in Phuket.

The 28-year-old, from south London, had intended to go travelling in the southeast Asian country for three-months, but was mysteriously found dead on 3 January, 2025, just five days after his arrival.

His devastated dad and sibling flew out there after they received the tragic news, before pals of Regan launched a fundraiser to pay for the repatriation of his body, which ultimately raised over £20,000.

Authorities in Thailand listed Regan's official cause of death as accidental drowning, however, his sister Laurie Blackall believes there is more to the story.

Over the last 12 months, she has been tirelessly searching for clues which could help her piece together Regan's puzzling final movements.

Regan Kelly died in January last year just five days after arriving in Thailand (Just Giving)

CCTV captured the building surveyor chatting to a man at the bar of the Mad Monkey Hostel, which is where Regan was staying while visiting Phuket with a friend.

Laurie explained she has since tracked down this mystery drinker, who informed her that he had a conversation with her brother about falling out with the pal he was travelling with.

She explained that the pair 'looked like they were having a heated conversation' in the surveillance footage, but believes her brother just appeared animated as he was 'expressing his emotions'.

"Regan was really upset and couldn’t find his friend," she told The Sun, explaining that the tragic traveller 'vented' to the man he met in the bar about the disagreement with his mate before they went their separate ways.

Further footage of Regan captured his last known movement, as CCTV cameras filmed the Brit running towards Patong Beach.

At 10am the following morning, he was found floating face down in the water. He was naked, aside from a single sock on one of his feet.

His sister believes one strange clue suggests that there is more to the story (Just Giving)

Laurie suspects that this one small detail suggests that foul play may have been involved, as she insisted that her brother would definitely have been barefoot if he was going in the water.

"My brother was very spiritual, and there is no way he would go in the sea with socks on," she said.

"He’d say to me you’re creating a barrier between yourself and Mother Nature if you wear shoes or socks in the sea."

Laurie explained that she feels she has a duty to 'scrutinise absolutely everything' as his sister and 'can't just put it to bed' without looking into every lead possible.

Confusing matters further, she claims that autopsies carried out on Regan in both Thailand and the UK produced conflicting results, fuelling her theory that he did not accidentally drown.

Laurie has vowed to continue fighting for answers about what happened to the 28-year-old (Just Giving)

"The autopsy said there were two areas of bruising on his head, which hasn’t really been explained to me," she told The Sun.

"The Thai autopsy also noted that Regan had an appendix - but I know in 2019 he had it out, I was with him in hospital. But in the autopsy here, it doesn’t mention an appendix."

Regan's family are holding out hope that an inquest in the UK - which is set to be scheduled at some point this year - will give them more answers.

Laurie said she has been 'so overwhelmed' by scouring for information about what happened to her brother, but insists she won't give up until she gets to the bottom of what happened last January.

"I’m not pointing the finger at anybody, but I just don’t believe it’s as simple as they’re making out," she added.

LADbible has contacted police in Phuket for comment.