A nurse who went missing after being infected with malaria during a medical trial has been found in Holland, it was confirmed today.
Matthew Lloyd, 35, made contact with Dutch police on Monday and has been admitted to hospital in the country.
He vanished 12 days ago when he missed an appointment for treatment in Oxford as part of the trial and called in sick at Southampton General Hospital, where he works.
A spokesman for Hampshire police – who issued an urgent appeal when Matthew first went missing – said they were working with his family to return him to the UK.
He said: ”Hampshire Constabulary can confirm that missing Southampton nurse Matthew Lloyd has been found in the Netherlands after making contact with Dutch police yesterday evening.
”He has been admitted to hospital for a medical assessment and any relevant treatment he may require.
”We are currently awaiting updates from the Dutch medical profession and at this time we do not yet know whether he has contracted malaria.
”We are pleased that Matthew has been found and we will be working with his family to ensure his safe return back to the UK.
”The constabulary would like to thank local and national media for their extensive coverage of this case and their efforts in assisting us with our investigation to find Matthew.”
Matthew failed to turn up to an appointment for an antidote to malaria in Oxford on October 7.
His bank cards were used at cashpoints in Milton Keynes and Birmingham, as well as a cashpoint in Kings Cross in London on October 5.
In a recent interview, his worried parents Doreen, 64 and Michael, 74, Holland and sister Claire, 31, said they feared the malaria had affected his brain.
Distraught Doreen, of Wellington, Somerset said: ”I have an instinct he is confused and ill but hasn’t come to any harm.
”I think the malaria injection must have triggered something the doctors did not know about.
”I can’t believe he is functioning fully. If he was, he would’ve been in touch. If people see him acting unusually, he is not dangerous. Please approach him and get him help.”
