Sir Ranulph Fiennes: Family Says Whereabouts Unknown as Police Say Explorer Is Safe

The family and friends of Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the celebrated British explorer once described as the world's greatest living adventurer, say they have been unable to visit or contact him for months, deepening a mystery surrounding his welfare and whereabouts.

His former sister-in-law, Arabella Pepper, told the BBC she had no idea where the 82-year-old was and that no one close to him had been permitted to see him. The admission has fuelled alarm among a wide circle of relatives and longstanding friends who say the explorer has effectively disappeared from public view.

It has been alleged that Sir Ranulph has been admitted to a series of care homes under assumed names, following a family rift involving his second wife, Louise Millington-Cotes. The allegations have not been substantiated in public, and Louise Millington-Cotes did not immediately respond to the claims or to the BBC's request for comment.

Cheshire Police said they were aware of the concerns raised about Sir Ranulph but were satisfied that he was living in an appropriate setting with suitable care. The force added that there were "no immediate safeguarding concerns" – a statement that officials hope will calm fears, though it has done little to satisfy those who say they simply want to see him.

The explorer has not been seen in public for nearly two years, a period that began only months after he spoke candidly about receiving a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. His withdrawal from public life followed decades in which he was almost constantly in the public eye, leading expeditions and recounting them in books and lectures.

Sir Ranulph's stepson, Alex Millington-Cotes, told BBC Newsnight that he wanted power of attorney "removed from my own mother" and placed in the hands of people who have "fully his best interests in mind". Power of attorney is a legal arrangement that allows a nominated person to make decisions on behalf of someone who may lack the capacity to do so, and disputes over such arrangements can be fraught and deeply personal.

Last week, Alex Millington-Cotes launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for legal fees to "locate and safeguard" the explorer. He wrote that the fundraiser had been created "as a result of our concern and desperation" after trying "multiple avenues" to locate his stepfather, suggesting that informal efforts to establish contact had been exhausted.

Arabella Pepper, the younger sister of Sir Ranulph's late first wife, Ginny, told Newsnight that she had not been able to see her former brother-in-law for more than a year. Her account paints a picture of a man who is loved and missed by many but who has become unreachable to those who knew him best.

"All his friends and family want to see him and take him Toblerones and cheer him up, but we don't know where is, and he's not available, he's not accessible – that's what worries us," she said, referring to the chocolate bars that became a running joke during his polar expeditions, when treats were a rare and precious comfort.

She alleges that she was only able to see him in July 2025 after she admitted herself to a care home where she had been told he was staying. "The first thing I said to him, apart from the usual greetings, was that everybody was worried about him, was looking for him, was longing to see him," Pepper told the BBC.

"The relief on his face was very obvious, and he said, send a message to everybody, send them my love, tell them I love them and tell them I'm longing to see them." That account, if accurate, suggests the explorer himself may not be aware of the extent of the concern, or may not have the means to respond to it.

Sir Ranulph's achievements are the stuff of expeditionary legend. He was the first person to visit both the north and south poles by surface means in the early 1980s, a feat that required years of planning, fundraising and physical endurance in some of the harshest conditions on Earth. The Guinness Book of Records has described him as "the world's greatest living explorer".

He later undertook numerous other challenges, including attempts on Everest and long-distance crossings of hostile terrain, earning a reputation for grit and self-deprecating humour. His Parkinson's diagnosis, disclosed in the months before he withdrew from public life, added a poignant new chapter to a life defined by confronting physical limits.

The dispute raises difficult questions about autonomy, care and the rights of older people whose health is declining. Legal experts note that power of attorney arrangements are designed to protect vulnerable individuals, but they can become contested when family members disagree about what is best for a relative.

For now, the only official reassurance has come from Cheshire Police, who say they are satisfied with Sir Ranulph's living arrangements. His family and friends, however, say that reassurance is not the same as access, and they continue to press for independent confirmation of his condition and the chance to see him.

The crowdfunding effort led by his stepson is intended to fund legal action aimed at establishing his location and safeguarding his interests. Whether it succeeds may depend on the willingness of those currently responsible for his care to engage with a family that says it has been shut out.

As the impasse continues, Sir Ranulph remains, by all public accounts, unseen and unheard – a striking fate for a man whose life was spent pushing into places few others had ever reached, and whose friends now say they cannot reach him at all.