Cruel Twist in Missing Australian
Two weeks ago, on missing Melbourne student Brendan Dobbins' 25th birthday, his distraught parents believed the mystery surrounding his disappearance in Costa Rica was about to be solved.

A private investigator hired by the family had been told Brendan was shot dead by drug dealers and buried near Tamarindo, the coastal resort town where he had vanished on March 4.

Brian and Mary Dobbins, of Glen Waverley, stood by with a local police team a day later on April 23 as an excavator began digging where Brendan's body was said to have been dumped, 30 metres from the beach.

"It was pretty tough for my wife to take, especially being his birthday," Mr Dobbins told The Sunday Age from Costa Rica.

But nothing was found and the information supplied by a person described by Mr Dobbins as "one of the low-level criminals who seem to have the run of the place" was subsequently dismissed by police as unreliable.

He said police believed his son had been the victim of foul play but had not ruled out other possibilities, including that he might have been injured or kidnapped.

"If I listen to the police, it seems like a homicide but they haven't nailed anybody, there's no body... my feeling is there is still more information out there," Mr Dobbins said. "There's a very slim chance he's still alive."

Mr Dobbins said he had applied for a three-month visa to extend his stay in Costa Rica. Mrs Dobbins left on Thursday to return to Australia.

The Australian ambassador to Mexico, Neil Mules, who is overseeing the Federal Government's search effort, said that, as time passed, it seemed less likely that Brendan's disappearance was an accident.

"Some of the more benign theories may be harder to believe in over time," he said, "but we wouldn't want to say that any of the possibilities should be ruled out at this stage. They range from an accident, possibly involving drowning, through to darker possibilities involving getting on the wrong side of the wrong people."

In a statement, Mr and Mrs Dobbins said: "After being missing for 60 days, there appear to be no clues to explain our son's disappearance. This is every parent's worst nightmare. The pain caused by so many unanswered questions is endless. Is Brendan injured? Was he taken against his will? Is he dead or alive?

"We are appealing to the hearts of the Costa Rican people to help us find answers to these questions. If anyone has information about Brendan's disappearance, please help us find our son."

A toll-free line and a website, brendandobbins.netfirms.com/ has been set up and posters featuring Brendan's photo have been distributed.

Brendan disappeared after travelling to Costa Rica with a group of students from the University of Florida.