Georgina Gharsallah: Search goes on for missing Worthing mum with M5 service station poster trip

Georgina was 30 when she went missing, on March 7, 2018. CCTV footage showed her leaving the Clifton Food and Wine shop in Clifton Road, Worthing, at 9.30am. She has not been seen since.

Nearly five years later, the family still have no answers about what happened to the mum-of-two.

Georgina’s mum Andrea, though, will not give up and is working relentlessly on a poster campaign.

Simon Owens, from Plymouth, drove through all 12 service stations on the M5 in a two-day trip on Friday (December 9) and Saturday.

Simon, who lives and travels in his Transit van, said he wanted to spread awareness of Georgina's disappearance and the ‘lack of information as to her whereabouts’.

“It’s one of those things you just do and see how it goes and don’t expect big results,” he said.

Simon started at the Exeter services on Friday morning, heading north to Sedgemore and then Birmingham before venturing to Bristol the next day. He parked his van, plastered with posters of Georgina at each service station en-route.

Simon said he has experience in searching for missing people, even abroad.

He said: “Sometimes I have been able to help, sometimes haven’t.

"I saw Georgina’s story on the Spanish missing persons website about three years ago shortly after she went missing. I got in touch with Andrea and went to a couple of her events.

"I followed her posts and saw the absolute agony she is in. I just felt inspired to do something to take something off her shoulders.

"She's been focusing on the poster campaign and she’s done wonders but it must be exceedingly tiring and expensive.”

Simon said he doesn’t want to give false hope, adding: “It's tragic to say you can solve someone's horror. You can try but don’t think you’re the miracle helper. Keep it simple, don’t try and be clever.”

Simon said Andrea is ‘grateful for any positive help’ after ‘some awful trolling online’.

"It’s so unnecessary and horrible,” he said. “Anyone who is positive and kind is such a relief to her. You can try and put yourself in her position but I recoil from it immediately when I think of it being my family. It’s just unthinkable.”

Awareness events were held – on the anniversary of Georgina’s disappearance, in Clifton Road and Chapel Road – in March.

Andrea thanked Simon for his ‘amazing’ efforts to help find her daughter.

“I really appreciate it, I think it’s a really great idea,” she said. "I’ve already had quite a lot of response on Facebook. Some people have approached him and offered to share posters.

“He’s done an amazing job in a short space of time.

“It’s a great way of getting it out there to many people, as there’s so much traffic at service stations.

“We will try the same at various other places as well. I appreciate anyone’s help and support. We need it now with something like this.”

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