Found Safe UK - Antonino Coppola, 23, from Richmond, Surrey, missing from Bow, East London, 16 Sep 2021

[StillDiggin]

Finally Merton police have posted Richmond Upon Thames, original missing persons fb appeal. Hopefully the ball is very much rolling with the police looking for Antonino.

 

[AcbMurders]

Finally Merton police have posted Richmond Upon Thames, original missing persons fb appeal. Hopefully the ball is very much rolling with the police looking for Antonino.

Do you mean London Met police? I can only see Richmond UT's renewed appeal posted on FB an hour ago. I think it is OK to add a link Richmond Upon Thames Police | Facebook, as it is an official appeal.

Good to read that police are working hard at locating him.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

Late on this thread, and yes, too lazy to read 13 pages at half-past midnight, so please be kind.

Re: Desperate hunt for man, 23, who has been missing for four days

"Antonino is said to have gotten off the tube at Bow Road station in search of a bathroom."

The website is My London, but the article uses US "gotten" and "bathroom" - I'm presuming that "Bathroom" is the American euphemism for toilet...

Nope, The reporter lives in Tower Hamlets, should be accurate, so I guess it's just good old Americanisms.

Sylvie Wilkinson - My London Online

Nothing to do with the journo. It was a straight copy from the original police statement issued on September 17, which used that term.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

Finally Merton police have posted Richmond Upon Thames, original missing persons fb appeal. Hopefully the ball is very much rolling with the police looking for Antonino.

Do you mean London Met police? I can only see Richmond UT's renewed appeal posted on FB an hour ago. I think it is OK to add a link Richmond Upon Thames Police | Facebook, as it is an official appeal.

Good to read that police are working hard at locating him.

Merton is another police area, and forces will often share police appeals. Merton and Richmond are both covered by the Met.

 

[AcbMurders]

Merton is another police area, and forces will often share police appeals. Merton and Richmond are both covered by the Met.

Thank you for clarifying that, I thought it was a typo, as I'm not familiar with the area. Let's hope social media for East London forces will also share soon.

 

[JuicyLucy]

Do you mean London Met police? I can only see Richmond UT's renewed appeal posted on FB an hour ago. I think it is OK to add a link Richmond Upon Thames Police | Facebook, as it is an official appeal.

Good to read that police are working hard at locating him.

Interesting wording in that appeal imo: "We want to make sure he is safe and well." More usually, I would expect something like, "We are increasingly concerned for his wellbeing." The wording they've chosen implies to me that they suspect he is safe and well but need more information to help them confirm that.

JMO

 

[Gia86]

Interesting wording in that appeal imo: "We want to make sure he is safe and well." More usually, I would expect something like, "We are increasingly concerned for his wellbeing." The wording they've chosen implies to me that they suspect he is safe and well but need more information to help them confirm that.

JMO

I am still wondering why Tower Hamlets Police haven't posted the appeal yet! It's just Richmond Police posting it all the time. (On social media)

 

[patsolagr]

I am still wondering why Tower Hamlets Police haven't posted the appeal yet! It's just Richmond Police posting it all the time. (On social media)

They have posted, but only once: https://twitter.com/mpstowerham/status/1441778394568425491

 

[Officer Dibble]

Hi just to catch you up on the thread info so far...He and his friend were moving house and so were travelling with their belongings. When he became unwell his friend waited for him at the platform with their luggage etc. as his friend was not familiar with london and needed him to navigate the rest of the journey but he never returned. CCTV shows him throwing up as he leaves the station (he turns right) then disappears after this.

*someone please correct me if I'm wrong on any of these details.

The information about him needing help to navigate London is incorrect as they have both been in London for a couple of years.

We have been told early on they were moving house but it hasnt been mentioned since AFAIK.

MOO JMO

 

[Officer Dibble]

I have followed the thread and I'm not aware any of that was corrected. Presumably you are aware that some of that information is incorrect to have made that post.

Two people at least corrected it. They made posts after it with their corrections.

 

[Officer Dibble]

I will stand by @Officer Dibbles comment here and back him up. He didn’t say ALL missing men but certainly a huge proportion of missing men are not a priority for the Police unless there are unusual and exceptional circumstances around the disappearance and I speak from experience, so yes, it is true !

Thankyou @Officer Dibble
I don’t know why but my gut instinct is telling me that this was maybe a planned separation from his friend. I would like to know if he exhibited any signs of feeling unwell earlier that day or if it came upon him suddenly. There’s something just not quite right about all this JMOO

At first I thought it was genuine about feeling unwell and thought he had an acute appendix situation but as time has gone on its my opinion he made a sudden departure on purpose. The question is why? JMO MOO Edited to ask, are you thinking he hopped into a car that picked him up, on purpose? I have a feeling there is something very 'underworld' about this case. Again JMO MOO>

 

[tedtink]

Just thinking about his job, going from Manager to Waiter - was there another reason for that? Did he find it stressful being a Manager, wanted something with less responsibility?

Any mental health history, anxiety or perceived strange behavior? Paranoia? Defensiveness?

Schizophrenia has a tendency to manifest in late teens, early twenties.

Probably not the case, but thought it's worth a mention.

JMO MOO

 

[Officer Dibble]

Just thinking about his job, going from Manager to Waiter - was there another reason for that? Did he find it stressful being a Manager, wanted something with less responsibility?

Any mental health history, anxiety or perceived strange behavior? Paranoia? Defensiveness?

Schizophrenia has a tendency to manifest in late teens, early twenties.

Probably not the case, but thought it's worth a mention.

JMO MOO

We discussed this back in the thread. He was going from Assistant Manager to waiter position. I pointed out that my own offspring at similar age to AC had been waiters and assistant managers like AC. Once they do Assistant Manager roles they prefer to go back to waiter because they generally get better tips that way. You get paid a higher wage for AM role but often don't get a share of the tips (though it can happen but if its shared you cant get as much as you would if the tip was directly given to you as a waiter - depends on the restaurant). Problem is as AM you are often first in to unlock, stock take, receive deliveries, put it all away before the waiters turn up. Then you are last to leave and lock up and prior to that you have to tot up all the takings/cash up. Its a lot of responsibility for only a little bit more money. If you can use your charm as a waiter you can earn far more.

As he was moving area (afaik) he would likely have got a position close to home OR the vacancy provided accommodation. Often the Chefs get given a flat about the 'shop' and sometimes the waiters get to stay there too.


JMO MOO

 

[JuicyLucy]

As he was moving area (afaik) he would likely have got a position close to home OR the vacancy provided accommodation. Often the Chefs get given a flat about the 'shop' and sometimes the waiters get to stay there too.

JMO MOO
JMO MOO

SBM

I didn't know that. It would be interesting if someone could tell us where the new job was, and whether their new accommodation was part of the deal. Was his friend Ciro changing jobs too? Given Antonino's disappearance, what's happening about both of those things? Are they being kept open? Has Ciro moved into the new place on his own? Is anyone else a part of this arrangement? Where did he work previously and was there any significant history there explaining the job move?

I'm not sure why I'm asking really. It just occurs to me that we've been talking about this case for a week now, and we still know next to nothing about either of these young men or the situation surrounding Antonino's disappearance, which makes it hard for us to help.

Other things I would like to know are whether Antonino has a partner and whether they've heard from him at all; whether his phone ever went back on and if it's been used; whether his bank account/any credit cards have seen any activity; whether his passport has been flagged in case it's presented at a port or airport or on the Eurostar. The police sometimes (usually?) mention phone and bank activity (or rather the lack of it) when they're concerned about someone, and afaik they haven't done so in their appeals. I'm wondering if they know something that hasn't been released.

JMO

 

[AcbMurders]

Hi folks, I have started a timeline and added translations of Italian MSM info, esp. Chi l'ha visto for those who don't know Italian. Hopefully, this will be helpful to everyone, not just those who are new to the case. The main thing is that it's there for reference. I'll keep updating it. I know it's not complete but that's what I have time to do so far. Below is the first draft. It is saved as a thread on Missing! Media, Maps, Timelines *NO DISCUSSION*

16 Sept 2021
13h approx. - Antonino Coppola (AC) is travelling by tube to Bromley-by-Bow with C., close friend and flatmate, both from Positano, Italy. They are moving house and have suitcases with them. But shortly before reaching their destination, AC says he feels sick and they get off at Bow Road. AC tells his friend to stay on the platform with the luggage whilst he goes looking for a toilet. In C.'s words when interviewed on the phone by TV programme Chi l'ha visto of 29 Sept:

He said "don't come with me or you'll have to take the luggage with you". I waited on the platform. Half-an-hour, 25 mins later, I started to worried and I went out wilth all the luggage. In the first camera where we could see Antonino, you can see he vomits, lifts his head, walks and turns round. Because there you see that he vomits but afterwards it's as if he turns is head for fear that people might have seen him vomiting. But why did he not return to the station afterwards?​

17 Sept 2021
9.45h - Richmond Upon Thames police's first appeal:

Antonino Coppola aged 23 hasn't been seen since 16/09/21.
Antonino is Italian, is slim build & 6ft tall. He was wearing a white t-shirt, black trousers and orange Nike trainers.
Believed to have gotten off a train at Bow street at 1300 and hasn't been seen since. (source: Richmond Upon Thames Police | Facebook )​

20 Sept 2021
The Mirror publishes an article with quotes from AC's mother. Mum of missing man, 23, 'dying' to find him as disappearance is 'out of character' - Mirror Online

Chi l'ha Visto publishes details of AC's disappearance, including a photo of his backpack. Although in Italian, the basic details are fairly clear. The bottom paragraph says:

Antonino, 23, from Positano, has lived and worked in London for a couple of years as manager. On Thursday 16 September, at around 13h, he got off at Bow Road railway station and from that moment there have been no news about it. He did not return home. It is not known if he had his ID with him or his mobile phone which appears to have been turned off. He speaks English very well.​

22 Sept 2021
21.30h - Chi l'ha Visto first live appeal and interview with AC's mum Translation of appeal and conversation between journalist Emily de Cesare (EdC) and Mariella, AC's mum:

EdC: Good evening everyone, we are here in Positano because Antonino is from Positano. As you can see, there are many friends here supporting the family, including the major, because there is really a lot of concern. Antonino went missing in London, on Thursday 16 September. Mariella, your son has been living in London for two years, he speaks the language well. Antonino was in a good place, he was very happy because he had found a new job and the day he went missing, he was going to live in a new house with a friend. What happened was, whilst on the train with suitcases, at one point Antonino told his friend that he felt unwell, he was about to throw up and could not hold it back any longer. His friend said "Let's get off at the next stop, so you are not sick here (on the train)". When they got off, Antonino said "Wait for me here with the suitcases and I go looking for a toilet". Well, Antonino exited that tube station which is called Bow Road Station, there is a camera that has captured him going out (of the station) feeling unwell, but then he's out of the picture and we don't know where he went. The only thing we know is that he turned right. As we were saying, there is a lot of concern as the presence of all these people demonstrates, Antonino is a happy young man, he hasn't got any problem, but he had some health issues the week before. What happened, Mariella?

Mum: Antonino has allergies, he's asthmatic and he goes through phases when his asthma flares up. Antonino had left his inhaler at home, they were on the tube and he had an asthma attack, so they got worried, they called an ambulance and he was taken to hospital where he received treatment straight away and he was fine, as I spoke to him afterwards...

EdC: So only a week earlier he had felt unwell. That day he told his friend again that he was unwell, but the problem is that he's vanished into thin air. Even the Italian Consulate in London has become involved, they have been looking for him, also in hospitals, but unfortunately, there are no news about Antonino. He had ID documents with him in his backpack. When he left the tube station, he was carrying his backpack. We don't know if he felt unwell later, put it down somewhere and someone found it. We can also show a photo of the backpack. If anyone finds it, could they please contact us, as it would be important. At least we might understand which way he went. We know there's a large community of Italians following us in London. So we're appealing to them in the first place: if anyone in that area, Bow Road Station, knows someone, maybe shops with CCTV, if they could check whether Antonino walked past and see which direction he took, that would be important. Mariella, as a mum, she was saying that it's a living nightmare. Because there absolutely no reason why Antonino should have gone away. Also, he speaks (English) well, he's well-travelled, right?

Mum: Yes, he has travelled. He went to Australian before he turned 19 and stayed there for six months. He's smart, he knows how to relate to people, he's not an introvert, he's an extrovert. Our worry is that he felt unwell because he had no reason to leave his friend there with the luggage. As a mum, I'd ask anyone who happened to be in the area and saw Antonino leaving the station, feeling unwell, please call. Put yourself in my shoes, please... anyone who maybe now looks at Antonino's photo, if they have seen him, please call.

EdC: And another thing, mum is here but dad and brother are in London. So, any Italian who is watching us, if you have friends in London, please share Antonino's photo as much as you can. We're live, so if any important information comes through, we can communicate these immediately to your husband and your son. Because they are doing everything they can. The hope is that maybe Antonino hasn't been traced yet, because he didn't have ID on him...

Mum: Maybe he lost his backpack, maybe he's in hospital and they don't know who he is. Maybe by looking at the photograph, they can identify him. That's my hope tonight.

EdC: We have a photo of the backpack. It was on 16 September at around 1pm. His friend waited for about 20 mins below on the platform then he started looking for him immediately, he looked all around and after a couple of hours he alerted the family straight away. Therefore, the search, as much as possible, started at once and the family was informed.

Mum: That day Antonino was wearing a white top, black trousers and orange Nike shoes. And a black leather backpack which he never parted from.

EdC: All his friends, everyone in Positano has started to share the news on social media. I have been in Positano since yesterday and people have been telling me how they have contacted anyone they know in London. That has not been enough so far, which is why we are appealing to everyone watching us to share Antonino's photo, it's very important. And if you know anyone in the area, if they can look at CCTV. At the moment, we don't know what they are doing in London, but as we know from experience, the more people look and search, the more likely is that we find Antonino. (...)

Mum: Antonino is never still: "Let's make fettuccine by hand, let's do this, let's do that"... here I made a video of him making fettuccine pasta by hand.

EdC: Everyone has told me, not just the family, that Antonino would have never gone away without letting the family know, so there's a lot of concern, because there's evidently a danger that something has happened to him. Also because there's CCTV showing him going out of the station and feeling sick. It's very clear to those who saw the CCTV that he was very unwell. We don't understand why he did not go back.​

29 Sept 2021
21.30h - Chi l'ha Visto second appeal, not live this time. Below are key points (sorry, no time to translate every word):

• 
  
  • Still no news about Antonino’s whereabouts.
  • Antonino's friend, C., gives a brief account of what happened in a phone interview (see translated trascript at the top of this thread - 16 September) and it is mentioned that C has posted appeals on Instagram.
  • It’s confirmed that he turned right as he came out of the station.
  • Last week’s appeal generated a great response, esp. people wanting to help, both in London and in Italy, appeals has been widely shared, but no concrete leads.

The whole episode of 29 Sept is available at Chi l'ha visto? - RaiPlay until Wed 6 Oct. You need to register to watch Rai programmes but it’s safe and easily done from UK. For Antonino’s case you must fast forward half an hour or so into the programme. Hopefully, there will be a direct link to the specific clip after the main episode has been taken down.

 

[Officer Dibble]

SBM

I didn't know that. It would be interesting if someone could tell us where the new job was, and whether their new accommodation was part of the deal. Was his friend Ciro changing jobs too? Given Antonino's disappearance, what's happening about both of those things? Are they being kept open? Has Ciro moved into the new place on his own? Is anyone else a part of this arrangement? Where did he work previously and was there any significant history there explaining the job move?

I'm not sure why I'm asking really. It just occurs to me that we've been talking about this case for a week now, and we still know next to nothing about either of these young men or the situation surrounding Antonino's disappearance, which makes it hard for us to help.

Other things I would like to know are whether Antonino has a partner and whether they've heard from him at all; whether his phone ever went back on and if it's been used; whether his bank account/any credit cards have seen any activity; whether his passport has been flagged in case it's presented at a port or airport or on the Eurostar. The police sometimes (usually?) mention phone and bank activity (or rather the lack of it) when they're concerned about someone, and afaik they haven't done so in their appeals. I'm wondering if they know something that hasn't been released.

JMO

We've all so many questions. I don't think we will ever know. It seems the destination was Bromley by Bow. I wonder if there are a lot of Italian restaurants there? Yes maybe the Police know more. Maybe they don't and they are low in staff/overwhelmed with work. I wish we knew all these things. The only hope is the family hurry up and get any local footage before its wiped. JMO MOO

 

[JuicyLucy]

We've all so many questions. I don't think we will ever know. It seems the destination was Bromley by Bow. I wonder if there are a lot of Italian restaurants there? Yes maybe the Police know more. Maybe they don't and they are low in staff/overwhelmed with work. I wish we knew all these things. The only hope is the family hurry up and get any local footage before its wiped. JMO MOO

BBM

Yes, that's exactly what I meant. I'm curious to know specifically what restaurant the job was at in the hope that more information might spin off from that.

 

[tedtink]

BBM

Yes, that's exactly what I meant. I'm curious to know specifically what restaurant the job was at in the hope that more information might spin off from that.

My son says there's not much in BBW in the way of restaurants, shops etc it's mainly residential - Just a massive Tesco!
Maybe the new job is in Stratford/ Bow?

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

I'm curious to know specifically what restaurant the job was at in the hope that more information might spin off from that.

Why? I would think that sleuthing an establishment and its proprietors that is not linked to the disappearance of AC, would be against WS rules the same as any family, friends or employers of a missing person would be.

 

[Officer Dibble]

My son says there's not much in BBW in the way of restaurants, shops etc it's mainly residential - Just a massive Tesco!
Maybe the new job is in Stratford/ Bow?

That makes more sense. Thanks.