EXCLUSIVE: ‘Possible foul play’: Missing Brit found dead in Estepona had just scooped half a million euros on a villa sale
A MISSING expat whose body was found on the Costa del Sol at the weekend had recently landed a giant lump sum from a property sale.
The Olive Press can reveal that Andrew Wade, 65, had finally secured over €400,000 after winning a long legal battle with a dodgy British equity release company.
The expat, who went missing in Marbella a month ago, was found on wasteground in Estepona after an exhaustive search on Saturday by locals, police and firemen.
Wade, who Olive Press sources reveal had ‘a long-time cocaine habit’, had been planning to go back to live in the UK.
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The former British Airways steward had landed the huge payout after he had sold his family’s property in Benahavis this summer.
“The money had finally gone through after a decade of legal wrangling over a €1 million equity release charge,” revealed lawyer Antonio Flores, at Lawbird, who represents his family.
“He was delighted and there was certainly no reason to kill himself and you don’t normally overdose on drugs in the countryside,” he added.
Wade – who had been living in Malaga province since around 2012 – had been reported missing to police after vanishing from his home on August 15.
He had been driving his black VW golf which was later found with his mobile and passport, while he had left his two ‘beloved’ cats at home.
After an online appeal through media, including the Olive Press, police started to investigate.
But the investigation floundered until they suddenly announced a big search team would scour a wooded area near El Paraiso at the weekend.
It wasn’t long before the large team, using drones and sniffer dogs, found his decomposing body in deep undergrowth.
Police have so far given out few details but were quick to quash wild social media rumours the body had been ‘dismembered’.
“It is certainly very strange and out of character,” continued Flores, who represented his parents in the equity release miss-selling case from 2013.
“I’ve spoken to his sister who says she is devastated and it just doesn’t make sense,” added the Marbella-based lawyer.
“The police are telling her very little and she is baffled as to why it happened.
“I guess one of the main questions is: is that money still in his bank account?”
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The Olive Press has established that Wade, who was openly gay, moved to Spain to live near his parents who had retired here after buying the stunning €1 million villa in 2005.
He moved into the sumptuous four bedroom property with impressive grounds and swimming pool in Benahavis after his parents died a couple of years ago.
They had been plagued by a decade-long legal battle – which they finally won in 2023 – after being mis-sold in an equity release scam which left them in negative equity.
Police are still refusing to officially name his identity, nor that it is a murder enquiry.
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“We are still awaiting an autopsy result and can’t tell you anything else,” said a spokesman for the Policia Nacional in Malaga this week.
“A body was found on Saturday after an exhaustive search.
“We had been investigating all avenues since the missing man Andrew JW went missing in August. And the detailed search at the weekend proved positive.”
Click here to read more Estepona News from The Olive Press.
