text: LONDON — An American financial trader has vanished after traveling to London for a job interview, police said Thursday. 
   
   There has been no sign of San Francisco-based Josh Sanchez-Maldonado for a week. 
   
   The 24-year-old was last seen leaving his hotel just after noon on October 22. 
   
   Sanchez-Maldonado was not believed to have any money, nor access to it, and it was the first time he had traveled outside the U.S. on his own, according to London's Metropolitan Police. 
   
   Josh Sanchez-Maldonado, 24, of San Francisco, hasn't been heard from for a week. Metropolitan Police 
   
   "The whole family is highly concerned for his well being," his parents said in a statement released by the force. "Josh please contact us, your parents, your brother or sister through email, text, phone call or by any other means." 
   
   The family described him as "very goal oriented, very organized, detailed, kind, lovable and a respectful person." 
   
   Sanchez-Maldonado flew to London from Japan the day before his disappearance and was said to be heading to a job interview, although investigators said they had been unable to uncover the details of the appointment. He was due to fly back to San Francisco via Dublin, Ireland, the next day but did not catch the plane. 
   
   He had spoken to his father daily since beginning his travels. Sanchez-Maldonado was last in contact the day before his disappearance. ||||| Family of Josh Sanchez-Maldonado come to UK to plead for information on whereabouts of 24-year-old from Puerto Rico 
   
   An American trader has gone missing in London after arriving in the city for a job interview and vanishing before his return flight to the US. 
   
   
   
   Fears are growing for the safety of Josh Sanchez-Maldonado, 24, from Puerto Rico, who was last seen leaving his hotel in Feltham, west London, just after midday last Thursday, a day after flying into the UK from Japan. 
   
   His family have now come to the UK to make a plea for information on his whereabouts. In a statement issued through the Metropolitan police, they said: “Josh is a lovable person and we have left our world back home to be here for him. He is very goal oriented, very organised, detailed, kind, lovable and a respectful person. He has always kept in close communication to us. He is outspoken and very expressive. 
   
   Sanchez-Maldonado and a CCTV image from his hotel. Photograph: Metropolitan Police 
   
   “The whole family is highly concerned for his wellbeing. We really wish he contacts us as soon as possible. Josh please contact us, your parents, your brother or sister through email, text, phone call or by any other means.” 
   
   Sanchez-Maldonado’s father, Jose Sanchez, said he last spoke to his son on 21 October. Before that, they had been in touch every day since his son left the US on his first overseas trip by himself. 
   
   
   
   “He was kind of tired because he had just arrived,” he said. “He was sad he was away from home, so we were just talking about when he was coming back. He never confirmed the interview, he just told me he had a potential job interview in London.” 
   
   A graduate of the University of Puerto Rico, Sanchez-Maldonado had been living with his mother, Lucette Maldonado, in the US Caribbean territory while working on his MBA in finance and as a self-employed commodities and foreign exchange trader. 
   
   While his family do not know the nature of the job that Sanchez-Maldonado had been expecting to be interviewed for – or who it was with – given his interests they believe it must have been along financial lines. “He really enjoys the London market,” Sanchez said. 
   
   Sanchez discovered his son had gone missing last Friday, the day he expected him to return to the US via Dublin. “I work in San Jose, but actually he was going to fly into San Francisco because that’s the nearest international airport. I was going to pick him up on Friday afternoon,” he said. 
   
   “When I called him in the morning to make sure that he made it okay to the airport, he didn’t answer his phone. I called the hotel just to see if Josh had left and the hotel manager told me he hadn’t checked out yet. She went to his room and saw his belongings there and that’s when she got concerned.” 
   
   Sanchez-Maldonado was due to fly home last Friday. Photograph: Metropolitan Police 
   
   Police first issued an appeal for information on Sanchez-Maldonado’s whereabouts that day. However, there have been no further reported sightings of him and officers are growing increasingly concerned for his safety and wellbeing. 
   
   Described as white and about 5ft 8in (1.72m) tall, with a slim build and short, dark hair, he was last seen leaving St Giles hotel on Hounslow Road wearing a dark coloured flat cap, a brown/grey T-shirt, white shorts and black trainers. 
   
   Sanchez said he believed his son would have been most interested in visiting London’s financial districts, including the City and Canary Wharf, where police are currently focusing their efforts. 
   
   “His dream is to visit the financial area in London,” he said. “That’s where he always said he would love to work.” Police added that there is also an appeal in Feltham for information on his whereabouts. 
   
   Sanchez said he did not believe his son would have been interested in London’s nightlife. “He was more focused on earning money and making his trades, looking at the foreign exchange and the markets, making sure he was not losing and making his money. 
   
   “He was making some profit. He had some hopes and dreams like we all do. He earned enough money to book his trip and to travel. 
   
   “He’s a lovable, social person – outspoken. You meet him and in five minutes you learn to like him very quickly. We want to make sure that he is found, that we take care of him, that he’s okay and we can take him home.” 
   
   Anyone who has seen Sanchez-Maldonado or may know his whereabouts is asked to call detectives at Hounslow CID on 020 8247 6653/6246 or the police via 101. ||||| An American trader has gone missing in London, police say, and his family has arrived in the U.K. in the hopes of finding him. 
   
   "The whole family is highly concerned for his well-being," the family of Josh Sanchez-Maldonado said in a written statement, later adding in a video released by police that their son is a "very lovable person, very communicative and outspoken." 
   
   "Let him know that we're concerned and that we love him very much," his father, Jose Sanchez, says in the video, speculating that he might be lost and pleading for Londoners to take good care of him. 
   
   Josh Sanchez-Maldonado disappeared on his way to a job interview last week. His Dad has this message to Londoners... pic.twitter.com/39Fj34yLFw — Richard Main (@RPMain) October 29, 2015 
   
   The 24-year-old U.S. national, who's based in San Francisco, had arrived in the U.K. on his first solo trip outside the United States, police said. A trader by profession, he was in London for a job interview and was staying at the St. Giles Hotel in Feltham. 
   
   Sanchez-Maldonado was due to fly to San Francisco via Dublin Oct. 22 but police say he was not on the flight back. 
   
   "Officers are increasingly concerned for Josh Sanchez-Maldonado," London's metropolitan police said in a statement. 
   
   The family said they had "kept in close communication" since their son had arrived in the U.K. but have not heard from him since Oct. 21. 
   
   Reached by ABC News, the U.S. Embassy in London said that they were aware of the young man's disappearance and said they were working closely with his family and British police.
target: – A young Bay Area financial trader traveling abroad on his own for the first time has disappeared in London, where he told family he had a potential job interview, NBC News reports. According to the Guardian, Josh Sanchez-Maldonado, 24, was last seen leaving his hotel in west London on the afternoon of Oct. 22, the day after he arrived from Japan. His father, Jose Sanchez, got worried when Sanchez-Maldonado missed his Oct. 23 flight home and called his son's hotel only to discover he never checked out and all his belongings were still there. His family flew to London after he went missing and are publicly asking him to contact them. "He has always kept in close communication to us," the family said in a statement released Thursday. The Guardian reports Sanchez-Maldonado told his father he had a job interview in London but didn't give any details. According to NBC, London police have been unable to uncover any evidence or details of a job interview. "His dream is to visit the financial area in London," Sanchez tells the Guardian. "That's where he always said he would love to work." His father says his son would have little interest in nightlife, as he was more focused on his stocks and making money, and police are currently searching the city's financial areas. ABC News reports Sanchez fears his son is lost somewhere in the city. According to NBC, Sanchez-Maldonado had been speaking to his father every day during his trip. They last spoke the day before he disappeared.