Svetlozar Yotov – known as Svet – went missing from his Angel home in October last year

FRIENDS and family of a missing man say they have been “failed” by the police after feeling forced to investigate his disappearance themselves.

Svetlozar Yotov – known as “Svet” – vanished without trace from his home in Islington High Street, Angel, in October last year.

The 31-year-old has been described as a kind, gentle and clean-living young man who would get up to watch the sun rise and was devoted to his mother and little brother.

At the time of his disappearance, Svet was working part-time as a research assistant for a University of Westminster academic.

Svet belongs to a tight-knit group of university friends who would go for an annual ski trip together and meet once a month to catch up over a meal.

According to his cousin Yasin Zlatev, Svet’s disappearance came “out of the blue”.

He had been in touch with friends and family in the week before he went missing, and shared a takeaway with a friend the night before on October 8. According to Mr Zlatev, nothing seemed amiss. He said: “Nothing strange had happened. It wasn’t like he said he was feeling upset. It wasn’t like he even had girl troubles. It’s not like he was in trouble with budget things either.”

The alarm bells were raised when Svet did not turn up to babysit his little brother. His cousin filed a missing person report shortly afterwards. But police were “dismissive” of Svet’s case, Mr Zlatev said, registering his disappearance as “low risk”. Frustrated, Svet’s family and friends decided to take matters into their own hands.

“We did a lot of the investigating initially ourselves. I’m sure the police will say the time to act is just at the start – that’s when you’re most likely going to find something, if anything,” Mr Zlatev said.

He decided to ring around London’s hospitals, interview his cousin’s flatmates and attempted – unsuccess­fully – to check the CCTV cameras near his cousin’s home.

Svet’s flatmates told Mr Zlatev that he had complained of a headache on the day he went missing, and said he was planning to go for a jog along the canal towpath. It was a jog from which he did not return.

“He didn’t take his ID, he didn’t take his passport, he didn’t pack a bag, [and] he didn’t take any spare clothes or a rucksack. He didn’t write anything in his room that would indicate he’s going anywhere,” Mr Zlatev said.

Lydia Frumosu, one of Svet’s close university friends, also said she travelled to London “to basically play detective”, visiting his flat and putting up posters, making stickers and touring homelessness shelters around London, all to no avail. According to Mr Zlatev, the police failed to promptly check CCTV cameras near Svet’s home. “By the time they had gotten there, a lot of the footage had been deleted,” Mr Zlatev said.

Svet’s family were so disappointed with the police investigation that they lodged a formal complaint with the force in December last year.

“The police failed to act quickly, or even com­muni­­cate effectively – if I could, I would have hired private investigators,” Mr Zlatev said.

In an appeal launched to mark the one-year anniversary of Svet’s disappearance, the police said “there is nothing in Svet’s background to suggest he was in any kind of trouble or has come to harm”. Mr Zlatev said police have told the family Svet’s phone was last traced to Waterloo Station before losing connection.

The police said investigating missing person reports is a huge job for the Met, adding that in London 95 per cent of people return home within a week of being reported missing. In the year to May 2022, 1,040 were reported missing to the unit covering Camden and Islington.

But Svet’s cousin said it is clear “there’s not enough resources” avail­able, adding: “At the end of the day, that doesn’t really change the fact that my cousin’s missing.”

Asked what he would say in a message to Svet, Mr Zlatev said: “There is no heartwarming message that needs to be said, because if he could have come back home, he would have come back home by now. He missed Christmas, he missed New Year’s, he missed Easter. He missed a whole year.”

Detective Chief Inspector Brian Hobbs, from the local policing team in Islington, said: “I understand that Svet’s family are feeling incredibly concerned and anxious, and I can assure them that the primary focus of our investigation is to find Svet safe and well.

“Officers have conducted extensive enquiries to locate Svet, including appeals via social media and the Missing People charity. We have also liaised with authorities in his native Bulgaria but this has yielded no progress.

“We remain in contact with Svet’s family and will continue to update them with any significant developments.”

Information can be given to police via 101 or by tweeting @MetCC, reference 21MIS031924.

Alternatively contact the charity Missing People via www.missingpeople.org.uk or call 116 000.