THE body of a man has been found in the search for a British tourist who disappeared after a heartbreaking final call with loved ones.
Mark Counsell, 31, vanished in Thailand following a Christmas Day FaceTime with family.
Gwent police said in a statement: “We received a report that a body of a man had been found by Malaysian Police on Wednesday 7 January.
“Formal identification has not yet taken place, but the family of missing man Mark Counsell have been informed.
“The death is not being treated as suspicious.”
Mark, originally from Pontypool, South Wales, was travelling around Southeast Asia when he was reported missing.
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The backpacker’s family have not heard from him since a Christmas Day call.
Before Malaysian cops discovered a body, South Wales cops issued a desperate plea to anyone with information about the missing man.
They believed he had been travelling “either Thailand or the Kuala Lumpur area of Malaysia”.
Police said: “We’re appealing for information to find Mark Counsell, 31, who has been reported as missing.
“Mark was last seen on Thursday 25 December between 9am and 10am on video call, as he has been travelling Thailand recently.
They added: “He is believed to be in either Thailand or the Kuala Lumpur area of Malaysia.
“He is described as a white male, aged 31-years-old, 5ft 9in height, with an average build.”
Cops also said he has “short brown hair with faded sides” and a “short brown/ginger beard which is longer on the chin”.
The Gwent Force continued: “He was last seen wearing a Khaki coloured Fred Perry t-shirt.
A friend of Mark posted on Facebook that he had been last seen in the Kuala Lumpur area of Malaysia, saying: “We believe he is alone.
“Please reach out if you have any information at all.
“His family are worried sick.”
In tragic update to her post she wrote: “Thank you for all the shares, unfortunately Mark has been found and it’s not good news.”
It comes after a young Brit backpacker who was feared to have been lured into a scam compound run by organised crime gangs was found safe, two weeks after he vanished into the Thai jungle.
Lawrence Stallard Honour, 19, was located after 10 days of surviving in the forest by eating ants and tree bark near lawless Myanmar.
He was found at a temple in Kanchanaburi, Thailand in October.