Family's plea to missing tourist

The holiday was Eileen Owen's second trip to Gran Canaria

Relatives of a south Wales woman who went missing while on holiday in Gran Canaria have appealed for her to contact them.

Eileen Owen, 53, from Abercynon, in the Cynon Valley, disappeared at night on the Spanish island.

Her husband Michael woke at 0100 BST on Sunday to find she was not in their apartment.

Her disappearance is being investigated by Spanish authorities.

South Wales Police have said she is officially a missing person.

Mrs Owen is of medium build, about 5ft 1in with dark hair, and was last seen wearing black trousers and a pink t-shirt.

The Owens had gone to the resort of Puerto Rico in Gran Canaria for a week's holiday and were due to fly home late on Monday evening.

Mrs Owen, a receptionist at the art and design college in Pontypridd, has not taken any money or her passport with her, according to her sister, June Grant, from Mountain Ash.

She said: "It appears she's just walked off and nobody has heard from her since."

She's got small grandchildren and was looking forward to seeing them Janet Williams

The couple's children, Nicola, 35, and Neil, 29, flew out on Wednesday to help their father in his search.

Mrs Owen had visited the island once before but had been to a different resort on that occasion, according to sister Janet Williams.

"She is not a person who would go to Cardiff alone, let alone a foreign country," Miss Williams said.

"She's not a wanderer."

"We are urging her or anyone who knows where she is to get in touch.

"Trying to find her out there is like looking for a needle in a haystack and it's a very stressful time."

She went on: "Police have tracker dogs, they're putting posters up and they're going to announce it on the local television."

"I'm reading the situation that something might have upset her and triggered her off.

'Strange mood'

"Two days before she was due to fly home, she was behaving in a strange way, thinking people were staring at her."

Miss Williams has been keeping in contact with her brother-in-law since Mrs Owen went missing.

"[The couple] hadn't had an argument so as far as we know we can rule that out.

"They went out on Saturday for a meal. She didn't eat anything, she didn't have a drink and was in a strange mood," she said, adding that Mrs Owen had rung home a number of times during her holiday.

"But she had started packing to go home. She's got small grandchildren and was looking forward to seeing them."

Miss Williams said her niece and nephew were devastated by their mother's disappearance.

The Foreign Office is involved with the case and is providing consular support to the family in Spain.