"We want to encourage him, but we don't know where he is". The ex-sister-in-law of the former British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes laments on the BBC that they have not been able to locate the former explorer for two years.
Diagnosed with Parkinson's, the cousin of actors Ralph and Joseph Fiennes, famous for reaching the summit of Everest at 65 years old, is under the care of his second wife Louise Millington-Cotes who, they claim, has isolated him from everyone and everything.
The family claims that Sir Ranulph, 82, has been admitted to several nursing homes using false names.
Meanwhile, Cheshire police have stated that they are aware of concerns related to Sir Ranulph, but that "there are no immediate protection issues related to him".
Sir Ranulph has not been seen in public for almost two years, just a few months after publicly announcing his Parkinson's diagnosis.
In the early 80s, he became the first person to reach the North and South Poles by surface transportation, and the Guinness Book of Records has described him as "the world's greatest living explorer".
Sir Ranulph's stepson, Alex Millington-Cotes, told the BBC's Newsnight program that he wanted the power of attorney to be "removed from my own mother" and placed in the hands of people who "fully consider his interests".
"He is not someone who tends to isolate himself, so seeing him isolated now is very painful," he stated.
Last week, he launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for the legal expenses needed to "locate and protect" the explorer.
He claims that the campaign was created "as a result of our concern and desperation," after trying "multiple avenues" to locate his stepfather.
Arabella Pepper, younger sister of the late first wife of Sir Ranulph, Ginny, told Newsnight that she had not been able to see her former brother-in-law for over a year.
"All his friends and family want to see him, bring him Toblerones and encourage him, but we don't know where he is, and he is not available, we can't access him; that's what worries us," she stated.
She explained that she only managed to see him in July 2025 after entering a nursing home where she had been told he had been admitted.
"The first thing I said to him, apart from the usual greetings, was that everyone was worried about him, that they were looking for him and that she desperately wanted to see him," Pepper told the BBC.
"The relief on his face was very evident, and he said to me: 'Send a message to everyone, tell them I love them, tell them I love them and I can't wait to see them'".