Major Levi Davis twist as X-Factor star messaged friend HOURS before he was last seen & asked for £50 for mystery trip
A CLOSE friend of Levi Davis has revealed the missing X-Factor star messaged her hours before he was last seen - asking for £50 for a mystery trip.
Chantelle Small, 35, knew Levi through his family, the two had become close through music, and they regularly messaged back and forth.
She revealed her and the rugby player spoke in the early hours of the day he disappeared over Instagram - chatting about 1am UK time.
Levi, 24, was asking her for £50 to "get to his destination" and said he couldn't get hold of anyone else in the early hours.
When she asked where he was and where he was going, Levi declined to answer, simply saying: "Don't worry, I'll sort it".
The messages are some of the last known contact Levi had with his friends before he vanished in Barcelona.
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Chantelle told The Sun Online her friend's disappearance "makes no sense", but she still lives in hope that he will be found alive.
And while she has told the family about the messages, she has not been spoken to by the police.
She also explained she has noticed suspicious activity on Levi's Instagram - with the account appearing to at times go "active".
The 35-year-old said this - with other friends also pointing out contacts appear to have been deleted.
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It comes as Spanish police today revealed they have launched a new search for Levi in two areas.
Divers are carrying out underwater searches in the Catalan city's busy port, and cops are also searching through the the Llobregat Delta.
The wetlands are near the Barcelona–El Prat Airport.
And the area has never before been mentioned in connection with Levi's disappearance.
In a message shared with The Sun Online, Levi asked Chantelle: "I'm trying to get hold of some mates but everyone is asleep, need [£]50 to get to my destination and get paid of Monday, but it's okay if you can't!! I will bell afew people, I feel awful asking already."
Chantelle responded saying she couldn't afford it at the moment - and asked Levi where he was trying to get to.
"Ignore me it's all good!! And just literally travelling Europe and sorting my travel but don't worry I'll sort it!! I'll bell you tomorrow and go over some music," replied Levi.
The two signed off agreeing that they would speak on Sunday - October 30.
Chantelle, a student and radio producer, never heard from Levi again.
He was last seen at 10pm that night leaving a pub in Barcelona.
The aspiring singer and talented rugby player is still considered a missing person by cops in Spain more than six months on.
Chantelle told The Sun Online: "Even when he was on the X Factor, no matter how busy he was, he would always message back, he'd say how's uni, how's everything, and give me some feedback.
"We always keep in contact and we were in contact literally before he disappeared.
"The early morning when he went missing we were messaging. We were going to have a chat about music on the next day.
"He asked if I can lend him some money and if he could pay me back on the Monday. But obviously I'm a student so I couldn't help.
"I felt bad after how the situation turned out."
Chantelle explained that Levi had been excited for the future, with his new single due to come out just two weeks after his disappearance.
"I think that's why he might have gone to Barcelona to refocus and get ready for this," she said.
"He didn't mention why he was in Spain. All I can think of is that he was trying to focus and get his head together.
"He said his next single would be dropped on November 16. He was really excited he was looking for the future. He had plans."
She added his disappearance his "makes no sense".
Chantelle went on: "When I didn't hear from him the next day I just assumed he's busy - [and thought] that's fine he has got a lot on his mind.
"And then I didn't hear for a while I think I messaged him 'I hope you're okay'. I didn't hear anything."
She said she had been messaging Levi about the video he made four days before he vanished saying his "life was in danger".
Levi claimed he was being blackmailed by criminals who were threatening to kill him.
Friends had rally round Levi after the video - and Chantelle thought that despite clip Levi appeared to be a "good place";.
She added since then she has periodically checked on Levi's Instagram - with the messenger service on the app occasionally changing to register his account as being recently active.
"I suggested to his family to work out who has access to it as well because it gives you false hope," said Chantelle.
Frustration has been going over the progress of the investigation, with Levi's mum Julie Davis saying the probe had been "slow".
Spanish cops are continuing to probe a report of a man matching Levi's description spotted in the water from a cruise ship at 6.30am on October 30.
Detectives have said they are investigating whether he may have drowned by are also keeping other lines of enquiry open - saying there are "disturbing" elements to the case back in February.
"I'm hoping it's nothing and hopefully there's another lead and they do find him," Chantelle told The Sun Online.
"I'm hoping he's still in Spain, I've read many articles, I try not to check every day because it's too painful but I hope he's just somewhere safe and hiding.
"Now and then I message him to see if my text would send and say 'hope you're okay, you're safe'.
"You got to still have a bit of hope. You got to try and think that maybe he's hiding, that's the only possible way to think about it."
She added: "So full of life and so humble. Even with everything that's happened, he's so happy and he always puts other before himself.
"Professional as well, everything he did he'd put his 100% in."
The Sun Online tried to retrace the star's steps in Ibiza where he stayed with friend Richard Squire before travelling to Barcelona by ferry to "meet some mates".
Exactly what has happened to Levi remains a mystery - with each development throwing up more questions than answers.
After arriving in the Spanish city, the rugby ace never got in touch to confirm he had arrived.
He was last seen leaving The Old Irish Pub on La Rambla at 10.05pm, after ordering a pint while watching football on TV.
Levi played Premiership rugby union for Bath between 2017 and 2020, when he joined Ealing Trailfinders. A year later he signed for Worthing Raiders.
The rugby player-turned-reality star performed on X Factor: Celebrity in 2019 with fellow rugby players Ben Foden and Thom Evans as part of the group Try Star.
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In 2020, he appeared on E4 dating series Celebs Go Virtual Dating and became the first rugby union player to come out as bisexual.
