Mother to search for jungle son

The central American jungle is dangerous terrain

The mother of a British man who disappeared while looking for rare orchids in the central American jungle is flying out to assist with the search.

Sarah Hart Dyke, of Eynsford, Kent, will fly to Colombia later this week to try to learn the whereabouts of her son and his companion.

Horticulturist Tom Hart Dyke, 24, and friend Paul Winder, 29, from Chelmsford, Essex, have not been heard from since March - prompting fears they had been kidnapped and killed, died after becoming lost in the jungle.

They set off from Panama to hike through the Darien Gap to Colombia, ignoring the warnings of locals who said it was dangerous terrain and rife with guerrillas, paramilitary groups and drugs gangs.

There is a 95% chance of them being dead

Paul Winder's father

Mrs Hart Dyke will be met in Bogota on Wednesday by Russell Thomson, the charge d'affaires at the British Embassy.

She has already spoken to Mr Winder's father Brian, who recently returned from a two-week fact-finding trip to Panama.

'Expect the worst'

He told her to expect the worst, warning it would be very unusual for guerrilla groups to hold hostages for four months without demanding a ransom.

The Darien Gap region is also one of the most inaccessible areas of central America.

The men's credit cards have not been used for four months.

A spokesman at the British Embassy in Bogota said: "There has been no word from them since 5 March. There is a good deal of guerrilla activity in that area and there are real fears they have been abducted or killed.

Colombian rebels have hideouts in the rainforest

"There is no information that they managed to cross the border."

Embassy officials have asked the Catholic Church, Oxfam and other charities that have access in the Darien Gap area to gather information about the missing Britons and circulate their photographs.

Mr Hart Dyke is one of Britain's leading young horticulturists and has spent the last two years travelling the world in search of rare orchids.

He met Mr Winder, a merchant banker who is taking six months off from working at Salomon Brothers, while travelling in Puerto Rico.

On his return from Panama, Mr Winder's father told The Sunday Telegraph: "There is a 95% chance of them being dead.

"It would be very unusual for them to be held for four months without their captors demanding a ransom."

Worst kidnapping record

Colombia has the world's worst record for kidnapping, with more than 1,500 people seized last year.

Two rebel armies, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), are known to operate in the area where the two Britons went missing.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We share the concerns of the families and have been in touch with all our embassies in that part of Central America."

Four years ago Philip Halden, a father-of-four from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was held hostage for several months by Marxist guerrillas in the Colombian jungle before being released.