A devastated family is praying for the safe return home of a 21-year-old man who went missing after failing to arrive at work 10 days ago.
Upale Kaloshi, from Deptford, south-east London, was last seen on Saturday, May 21, and was reported missing the following day.
Officers believe he may have travelled to the Dover area and are now concerned for his welfare.
He is described as 6ft, 1in tall and is believed to have been wearing white trousers, a black jumper, black trainers, headphones and carrying a small black rucksack when he was last seen.
The night he went missing, Mr Kaloshi failed to turn up to his night shift at an Amazon warehouse in Dartford, his family said.
Upale's brother Lukundo Kaloshi, said the man's disappearance created "a sense of helplessness" within the family, and added that it is "completely opposite" from his usual characted.
He told The Voice: "I think we've exhausted all we can. All we can do is pray. There's a sense of helplessness. We've left it over to the police to take control."
He added: "Everywhere he goes he's a very likeable character. He's not irresponsible or anything. He updates everyone…he's just very level-headed. This is completely opposite from what he's normally like."
Lukundo added that his family believed Upale had gone out for the day and would return home after his night shift at 7am.
The morning he was reported missing, the worried family called Upale but he did not answer the phone.
Upale is described as "never missing a day of work" and reported him as missing as soon as they discovered he had not turned up for his shift at the warehouse.
Lukundo added that the police search has progressed in recent days due to increased media attention to the case, but added that if they had acted sooner, when the family first raised the alarm, they "would have possibly found him by now".
She said: "[The police] when they picked up the phone, they knew it was us calling that’s how many times we tried to keep pressing [the police to act], because at the time, when he was reported missing, his phone was still ringing and we assumed it’s quite an easy thing to literally just track his phone."
However, Upale's sister said he does not have any mental health issues so the police search only began 48 hours after they reported him missing.
But by then, Lukundo said, his phone was not on anymore. She said that since Upale went missing, the family has not been eating and cannot sleep properly.
She said: "We don't know what state he could be in. It’s a very uncomfortable thing to be feeling right now."
Kent Police said: "The public's help is sought to find a missing man thought to be in the Dover area.
"Upale Kaloshi is from Deptford, south-east London, where he was reported missing on Sunday 21 May 2023.
"It is believed the 21-year-old may have since travelled to the Dover area and officers are concerned for his welfare."
Anyone who has seen Upale, or knows of his whereabouts, is urged to call 101, quoting reference 23-0467.
The Mirror has contacted Kent Police for an update.
