PHUKET: The mother of an American surfer missing on Phuket is offering a reward of 50,000 baht for anyone who finds her son, ''dead or alive''.

Lynne Bean, who spoke to Phuket media at the Karon police station on Phuket's holiday west coast today, is desperate to know what happened to her son, Brett, who has not been seen for two weeks.

While she hopes he is still alive and safe, she recognises the possibility that something untoward may have happened.

''Anyone who has any information, if they could come forward we'd really appreciate it,'' said Mrs Bean.

The 43-year-old surfer was last seen near his bungalow in Kata-Karon on the weekend of November 24, only days before he was due to fly to Los Angeles.

Brett's motorbike, a silver-grey Honda 125 cc with Phuket license number 443, is missing. So are his laptop and mobile phone.

His mother showed photos of a tattoo on her son's left forearm to reporters today. Brett has a second tattoo of a snake on his right thigh.

No one has contacted police with any further information about Brett's disappearance since Saturday night when Mrs Bean and Brett's friend Naomi Smith arrived in Phuket from the US.

Brett missed a flight off Phuket, heading to Bangkok to connect with flights to Los Angeles, on November 26.

Since then, at least one friend on Phuket has claimed to have seen him riding around the Kata-Karon district, where he had paid his rent on a small bungalow six months in advance.

Mr Bean regularly spends several months on Phuket surfing while at other times working as a skiing instructor in Colorado.

Brett is 6 feet 2 inches tall, slender, and has blond hair and blue eyes. He sometimes grows a beard and at other times goes clean-shaven.

Mrs Bean and her husband Wayne moved from South Africa to the US in the 1960s.

Anyone who thinks they might have seen Brett should contact the US Embassy in Bangkok on 02 2054049 or after hours on 02 2054000, or write to Phuketwan via the comments space at the end of this article.