Adventurer friends of Sir Ranulph Fiennes including Bear Grylls urge police to help locate him as donations pour into crowdfunded legal pot

Some of Britain’s best-known explorers are urging police to investigate the mystery over Sir Ranulph Fiennes’s disappearance after his family’s pleas for help were ‘ignored’, telling him: ‘We are coming!’

The 82-year-old adventurer, who has Parkinson’s and has not been seen publicly for over two years, has reportedly been given a false name by his second wife and moved between a series of care homes.

As his stepson, Alexander Millington-Cotes, told today of having ‘no luck’ in his efforts to persuade two police forces to investigate, supporters including Bear Grylls and Ben Fogle backed calls for action.

But so far one force has refused to comment on whether it will take action, while the other has not responded publicly.

Meanwhile mounting support for the family has seen donations for a crowdfunded legal campaign launched by Mr Millington-Cotes top £15,000.

Often described as the world’s greatest living explorer, Sir Ranulph’s achievements include running seven marathons in seven days across seven continents, and climbing Everest aged 65, four years after a heart attack.

But after marrying 'controlling' Louise Millington-Cotes, who is 23 years his junior, in 2005, a little over a year after the death of his first wife, she became increasingly ‘dominating’, according to Mr Millington-Cotes, who describes himself as ‘estranged’ from his mother.

Friends and a business associate told The Mail on Sunday a similar story, with one reporting that Sir Ranulph spoke of ‘only ever being allowed 24 hours at a time away from her’.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes and his second wife Louise Millington-Cotes, pictured after returning to Britain following a failed attempt to climb Everest

Sir Ranulph pictured with TV adventurer Ben Fogle, who has called on police to investigate the 'very troubling' way his friend is being kept 'isolated'

After she was reportedly granted lasting power of attorney over Sir Ranulph in 2024, friends and family say they were initially allowed to visit them at a London care home as long as they signed a non-disclosure agreement first.

But since then he has been kept in a succession of care homes, reportedly under a false name, with the Care Inspectorate concluding that he had been unlawfully deprived of his liberty.

Mr Millington-Cotes has been trying for months to find him and check on his wellbeing.

He has contacted police in Cheshire – location of one of the homes where Sir Ranulph has been staying – as well as the West Mercia force, where the couple previously lived, but without success.

‘I’m trying to establish from the police what they’re doing… I’ve tried to get in touch but no luck so far,' he told the Sunday Telegraph.

Backing his pleas, fellow explorer Bear Grylls said: ‘We have been desperately trying to connect with Ran for a year now to no avail.

‘But truth always wins out.

‘These reports of his isolation from his loved ones and treatment in care homes are so deeply disturbing.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes on the first unsupported crossing of Antarctica in 1992

‘It’s past time for the Office for the Public Guardian and the police to investigate urgently. We owe it to him.

‘Ran we are coming!’

Ben Fogle, who like Sir Ranulph has walked to the South Pole and summited Everest, has also called on the police to investigate.

‘That such a great man, hero of mine and a national treasure, should be treated in this way, isolated and kept away from family and friends, is very troubling,’ he said on social media.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail single-handed and non-stop around the world, said: ‘The recent news that he is being shuffled from home to home and not allowed to see his friends is the deprivation of a basic human right.’

Other celebrity friends include Gardeners' World host Monty Don, who said Sir Ranulph should be ‘enjoying the admiration and respect of the whole country after such a remarkable life and not kept hidden away from family and friends’.

Meanwhile veteran BBC journalist John Simpson said: ‘He’s the world’s bravest man, and he’s vulnerable. We must know what’s happening to him.’

And shadow health and care secretary Damian Hinds has called for ‘any potential failings’ at the care watchdog the Office Of The Public Guardian to be ‘looked into’.

Mr Millington-Cotes, 31, is now seeking to raise £55,000 to fund legal action if that becomes necessary.

‘I want to ensure his complete free will, the ability to walk outside, see whoever he wants,’ he told The Mail on Sunday.

Cheshire Police declined to comment, while West Mercia Police have yet to comment.

Mrs Millington-Cotes, 59, has so far not responded to requests for comment.

Mr Millington-Cotes’s GoFundMe page can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/helpingranfiennes