Missing man Ben Roper. Picture: Twitter Source: The Daily Telegraph
THE mother of missing flight attendant Ben Roper launched an emotional plea for anyone with information to come forward.
Mr Roper, 33, has been missing since he left his Randwick home on January 26 at 5pm, with family believing he may be in hiding after having difficulty coping with chronic back pain and a series of "homophobic" messages from an anonymous person.
Michele Pippen, a yacht broker who lives on the Malaysian resort island Langkawi, said she was trying to keep a positive mind about her son's disappearance, although police weren't ruling out foul play.
"Chronic pain is pretty horrible, so I don't know if he's maybe gone out and then tried to hide somewhere or meet up with somebody who said, ‘Stay with me for a few days,'" Ms Pippen said this morning at a press conference held at Maroubra Police Station.
"I'm just staying as strong as I can for Ben because if I start collapsing and then it's like (a deck of) cards - everybody collapses. I just want to find Ben. I just feel we're going to find him."
Maroubra Police Detective Inspector Rohan Cramsie said police were "keeping an open mind" and continued to investigate threats Mr Roper had been receiving on his mobile phone since December.
Do you know more? Contact caroline.marcus@news.com.au
A comment posted on a Facebook page set up to help find the popular man who disappeared on January 26, revealed Ben posted a message on December 10 "about someone sending him abusive homophobic voicemails from a blocked number".
Ben's mother Michelle Pippen said her son had been very concerned by the messages.
Ms Pippen, who arrived in Sydney yesterday after a frantic flight from her home in Malaysia, said it was completely out of character for her son to disappear.
"It's just not like him to take off and not let anyone know but the messages were frightening him," she said. "I feel maybe he's hiding somewhere to get away from things."
Ben, 32, was last seen at his Randwick home by his aunt Christine Pippen about 5pm last Saturday and later sent her a text message at 6.15pm indicating his back pain was "not good".
Friends became concerned when he posted a message on Facebook that evening revealing the extent of his back pain, saying he was "sick of it".
When he failed to arrive to crew a Virgin flight to Bali the following morning, his co-workers raised the alarm.
Police confirm Ben's car and phone were found at his home and his bank accounts remain untouched. Police suspect Mr Roper may have come to harm.
"We know that his phone is still at home, we know that his car is still at home and he hasn't taken anything," Superintendent Gavin Dengate said yesterday. "That in itself is suspicious. You put that together, knowing that he was from very much a loving and caring environment - it causes us some concern."
Supt Dengate said detectives were following a number of leads and have spoken to Mr Roper's employers, who had been helpful.
He said there was little in Mr Roper's private life to suggest a reason for his disappearance.
"We're looking at a number of areas at the moment," Supt Dengate added.Ben is described as Caucasian, 180cm tall with a medium build and brown hair and has two distinctive tattoos including a flame design on his upper right arm and the numbers 2035 on his back - a tattoo associated with the Bra Boys.
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