A PETITION has been launched to bring back a confused pensioner who was once at the centre of an international mystery after he was found wandering in a Hereford car park thousands of miles away from his home in the USA.

When Roger Curry was found in the Hereford bus station car park on November 7 2015, he had no identification or any indication of where he was from although he was dressed in new clothes from Tesco and had an American accent.

He was taken to Hereford County Hospital and subsequently to a care home in Credenhill but, although police trawled CCTV, launched an international press appeal, checked with the National Crime Agency, Interpol and ran fingerprint and DNA checks, no results were ever found to identify the man, who had dementia.

It was when BBC Midlands Today launched a fresh appeal that the first clue was found after a viewer shared a photograph of a younger Roger Curry – taken from a 1958 American High School year book.

Panorama Reporter Darragh MacIntyre travelled to the USA in an attempt to identify the ‘unknown man’, visiting Whittier Boulevard, the Los Angeles suburb that the Roger Curry from the year book had moved to.

His findings were revealed in an episode of the BBC One show earlier this week and showed how Roger Curry’s listed address had been abandoned following a fire, although neighbours were able to confirm from photographs that it was the same man that had been dumped in England.

Mr MacIntyre discovered that Mr Curry's son Kevin had acted as a carer for both of his parents in recent years but after the fire, Roger and his wife were left sleeping in the yard of the burnt-out house, with their son suspected of locking them in.

However, Mr Curry's wife had said it was her idea and no one was prosecuted. Three months later, her husband was abandoned in Hereford.

It is possible that he may have been a victim of ‘granny-dumping’ – a practice in the USA where elderly relatives are left in a public place when their care bills cannot be paid for.

After Mr Curry was identified, a man from Taunton, Somerset, was arrested and remains on police bail, while the pensioner was quietly flown back to the USA.

The Panorama reporter attempted to talk to Mr Curry’s son several times but he only ever spoke off-camera, stating he had nothing to do ‘whatsoever’ with the abandonment of his father in England.

His father had, he said, become ill when visiting on holiday and Kevin had asked a friend to take him to hospital. However, this did not explain why Mr Curry had been left in England for eight months.

However, Darragh's visits to Mr Curry's current care home in LA did not appear to provide the happy ending many had hoped for. He first found him in a 'diminished' state, although at a second visit he appeared to be better.

His future is now in the hands of the American courts and the LA authorities have taken control of his care.

Legal papers seen by the Panorama show describe Roger haven been taken 'surreptitiously' to England by his wife and son and then abandoned while they went on a holiday in Europe.

More than 800 people have signed a petition calling for Mr Curry to be brought back to Herefordshire.

A spokesman for Herefordshire Council said: "From the point of view of the staff at the care home and people at the council who worked with Roger, we were all really sad to see him go.

"He was such a gentle person." A goodbye party and breakfast was held before Mr Curry returned to the USA.

To sign the petition visit change.org/p/we-all-can-make-this-happen-get-roger-curry-back-to-hereford