Sir Ranulph Fiennes: Family Says They Cannot Locate or Contact Ailing British Explorer

The family and close friends of Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the celebrated British explorer once described by Guinness World Records as "the world's greatest living explorer," have said they have been unable to see or contact him for months, raising urgent questions about the welfare of the 82-year-old adventurer.

His former sister-in-law told the BBC she does not know where Sir Ranulph is, and that nobody among his circle had been permitted to visit him. The disclosure has prompted a rare public appeal from relatives who say they have exhausted every available channel in their attempts to reach him.

Concerns have also intensified over allegations that Sir Ranulph has been admitted to a number of care homes under assumed names. The claims follow an apparent rift within the family involving his second wife, Louise Millington-Cotes. She did not immediately respond to those allegations, nor to the BBC's request for comment.

Cheshire Police said they were aware of the concerns surrounding the explorer and were satisfied that he is living in an appropriate setting with suitable care. The force added that there were "no immediate safeguarding concerns," a statement that offers some reassurance but has done little to quiet the anxieties of those who say they have been shut out of his life.

Sir Ranulph 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. The neurological condition, which affects movement and can progressively impair mobility, speech and cognitive function, makes the question of his care and companionship all the more pressing for those who know him.

His stepson, Alex Millington-Cotes, told the BBC's Newsnight programme that he wanted power of attorney "removed from my own mother" and placed instead with people who "have fully his best interests in mind." The intervention is unusual in its directness and signals how far the dispute has escalated inside the family.

Last week, the stepson launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for legal fees aimed at helping "locate and safeguard" the explorer. In his appeal, he wrote that the fundraiser had been created as "a result of our concern and desperation" after he and others had tried "multiple avenues" to find his stepfather.

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. She described a man surrounded by people who wish him well yet kept beyond their reach at precisely the moment he may need them most.

"All his friends and family want to see him and take him Toblerones and cheer him up, but we don't know where he is, and he's not available, he's not accessible — that's what worries us," she said. Her words capture a frustration shared across a wide network of former expedition partners, supporters and relatives.

Pepper alleges that her only recent contact with Sir Ranulph came in July 2025, when she was able to see him after admitting herself to a care home where she had been told he was staying. The account suggests a degree of secrecy surrounding his whereabouts that relatives find difficult to understand or accept.

"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," she recalled. According to her account, Sir Ranulph's relief was plainly visible, and he responded with a message intended for those who had been searching for him.

"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," Pepper told the BBC. For his family, that message has become the clearest indication that the explorer himself may be unaware of the scale of the efforts being made on his behalf.

Sir Ranulph's achievements are the stuff of expedition legend. He became the first person to visit both the North and South Poles by surface means in the early 1980s, a feat achieved across separate gruelling journeys that cemented his reputation as one of the most determined explorers of his generation. Guinness World Records later honoured him as "the world's greatest living explorer."

That reputation was built on decades of endurance in some of the planet's most hostile environments, often alongside his first wife, Ginny, who died in 2004 and who was widely credited as the driving force behind many of his expeditions. His later life has been marked by public reflection on ageing, illness and the physical limits that even the hardiest adventurers must eventually confront.

The current dispute raises difficult questions about autonomy, consent and the legal mechanisms designed to protect vulnerable adults. Power of attorney is intended to ensure that decisions are made in a person's best interests when they can no longer make them alone, but disputes over who holds that authority can leave relatives feeling powerless and isolated.

The involvement of Cheshire Police indicates that the concerns have reached the attention of statutory agencies, which have a duty to assess safeguarding risks. While the force said it was satisfied with Sir Ranulph's living arrangements, it has not disclosed further details about his location or the nature of the checks carried out.

For now, the explorer's family and friends are left in an agonising position: publicly appealing for information about a man who once commanded global attention, while privately uncertain whether their messages of affection are reaching him at all. The crowdfunding effort and the Newsnight interviews represent an attempt to force transparency where they say none currently exists.

Should the family succeed in their legal challenge, it could set a precedent for how the affairs of elderly public figures are managed when relatives disagree. For Sir Ranulph himself, the immediate question remains painfully simple and unanswered: where is he, and who is ensuring that he knows how many people still care?