X-Factor and rugby union star Levi Davis, 24, disappeared without a trace on October 29, 2022, leaving his mother in a dreadful state of uncertainty. For two excruciating years, Julie Davis has been waking up each day not knowing whether her missing son is alive or dead . Like the families of the 170,000 individuals who go missing in the UK annually, including 75,000 children, Julie, 53, from Solihull, West Midlands, is desperate for answers about her son's whereabouts . Ex-Bath Rugby star Levi had belted out tunes on The X Factor: Celebrity in 2019 with his Try Star bandmates Thom Evans and Ben Foden. He vanished while on holiday in Barcelona after being spotted on CCTV leaving The Old Irish Pub on La Rambla around 10pm. Pub staff recall him nursing just a drink or two. The last message from him came past midnight, via a WhatsApp message to a mate. However, Levi had previously faced abuse for his sexual orientation, including falling prey to a malicious 'sextortion' ploy. Julie is haunted by fears that Levi's traumatic ordeal, culminating in a rape that was recorded, might be interlinked to his sudden vanishing. Julie said: "The blackmail video was a while before he went missing – around the time of X Factor. I think he innocently got drawn into something." Her discovery of the sinister plot came through her eldest, Nathan, who shared that Levi had told him a harrowing tale: "Levi had confided in Nathan that he had been drug raped and photographs had been taken and he was being blackmailed." She recounts the chilling details: "They told him, 'We've got this on camera and we're gonna do XYZ to your family if you don't pay'." Nathan also disclosed another horrific incident to Julie, recalling: "Nathan said to me, 'Mama I've got something to say and it's not gonna sound very nice'. He said Levi found himself sort of chained to a chair with his feet in a bowl of water, attached to some kind of electricity." After a knee injury threatened his rugby career, Levi set off to explore Europe, contemplating swapping the scrum for the stage. His mum, Julie, a mother to six, shares: "Levi wanted to travel Europe because of his anterior cruciate ligament tear. He'd been in Ibiza for a couple of weeks to work on music, and he said he planned to stay at a hotel in Barcelona overnight before going to his next destination, which was left open. But he had run out of funding." The day following his disappearance, cruise ship passengers near Barcelona's port claimed they saw a man in the water. Julie adds: "It was dark at the time and this person had a white T-shirt on, which we know Levi did." Julie remains engulfed in unanswered questions regarding the mysterious circumstances of her son's disappearance. She relayed that onlookers said: "Whoever saw him in the water said he looked to have been dark-skinned and aged around 30." Spanish police initiated a search, which was eventually aborted when all passengers from the boat were accounted for, reports the Mirror . Julie is unconvinced and skeptical about the police investigation: "They left so many questions unanswered. They said his phone last pinged by an underground station near to the port. What was he doing there at half past six in the morning?" Levi's passport recovery from the port's cargo area further complicated matters, as well as his untouched bank account. Julie was told by Catalan Police that her concerns would be included in their report, only to be presented with a language barrier: "When it finally arrived last year, half of it was in Spanish and half in Catalan, so we had to get it translated – all 250 pages of it." With authorities now directing her towards legal avenues to pursue additional queries, Julie said: "We're now crowdfunding to find a solicitor. The cheapest one we've been quoted is £5k, and this is for preliminary work. As far as the UK police are concerned, we've just been totally forgotten." Despite Levi being placed with foster parents when he was seven, he stayed close to his biological family. Julie reflects on the past with mixed feelings: "Sometimes I look back and think, 'was that the right thing to do?' I just wanted to protect my child, but the poor boy didn't know what was happening to him." She also recounted an instance of Levi's strong bond and yearning for his family: "Levi missed us so much. Aged eight, he made his way back from Aston in Birmingham all the way to Chelmsley Wood. He said he walked a lot of it and then got a taxi the rest just to be with his mum and brothers." After finding joy in a new home with foster mum Suzanne, this lad bagged himself a sports scholarship to the swanky Denstone College in Staffordshire. He didn't stop there – off to uni in Bath he went, and even played for the prestigious Bath Rugby Academy. But the shadow of Levi's vanishing act still haunts Julie, who's been left high and dry by Spanish cops admitting they're stumped with no fresh leads. Back on British turf, West Midlands Police said: "The investigation is being run by the Spanish authorities, and we are supporting it when required. Our thoughts remain with Levi's family and we will continue to provide them with any updates from the Spanish authorities as their investigation continues." For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here .