A YORK mum who flew to Turkey on Sunday to reclaim the body of her son says she hopes to be able to bring him home soon.
Andy Eveleigh, 34, from New Earswick, flew to Turkey on Monday last week for what was supposed to be a dream holiday.
But after checking in at the luxury Lake & River Side Hotel in Side, Antalya, that evening, he failed to call his mum Elaine back in the UK to say he had arrived.
A worried Elaine texted the hotel that evening asking them to check on him, but got no reply.
The next morning she managed to contact the hotel and asked them again to check on him - only to be told, in a call three hours later, that he had been found dead in his bedroom.
Elaine, who flew out to Turkey on Sunday to identify Andy’s body, still does not know how or why he died.
She texted the Press to say she had been met by a representaytive from the British Consulate, and had been to the funeral home in Turkey where Andy’s body is being kept, where she was able to give him a hug and say a final farewell.
“He looked peaceful, like asleep,” she said.
Elaine said she had been told that Andy’s insurance would cover the cost of repatriating him and his belongings, and that she hoped she would be able to bring him home ‘very soon’.
But she said she still had lots of unanswered questions about how and why Andy died. All she knows is that he was found dead on his bed on the Tuesday morning.
She says she has been told it could be about six months before a full account of what happened is available.
"That’s what they do here (in Turkey) apparently,” she texted.
Before flying to Turkey Elaine told the Press that Andy, who had health problems including asthma, bad legs and a bad back, had been 'really excited' about what would have been his first foreign holiday alone.
He video called her before his 'plane took off, and again when it touched down in Turkey, to show her the airport.
He called her again on his way to the hotel.
"He said he was feeling tired, but that he would video call me as soon as he got to the hotel, to show me his room and balcony," she said.
But she heard nothing more – until she was able to contact the hotel the next day and they told her he had been found dead.
Texting the Press from Turkey, Elaine that she was planning to put some final videos that Andy made as he journeyed to the country on a memory stick, so that she could ‘keep them forever’.
“He will be missed so much!” she said.
Andy's friend Kelly Goscinski has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover Elaine's expenses and Andy's funeral costs. To contribute visit gofundme.com/f/in-memory-of-andrew-eveleigh
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