Mum of inventor Julian Brown, who was feared missing after saying he was 'under attack', says what's really happened to her son

Julian Brown, aged 21, who is known for his invention of plastoline, a machine which converts old plastics into usable fuels, supposedly went missing earlier this month.

Fans started to worry for his safety after he posted some concerning and cryptic statements on his Instagram page earlier this month. His final post, on Wednesday July 9, read: “Something is happening keep me in your prayers please SCREEN RECORD THIS. I don’t know.”

As he now hasn’t returned to the platform for almost three weeks, followers began to think that he was missing - and also worried about what could have happened to him.

But, now his mum has reassured his fans that he is safe and well. Nia Brown told the DailyMail on Monday that her son is not missing. “I can confirm Julian is safe but in the best interest of his security I'm not able to provide any more information,” she told the publication.

When asked for further details, she insisted she could not provide more information about her son. It appears he is keeping a low profile to keep himself safe.

Julian, who is a metro Atlanta inventor and influencer with more than 1.7 million followers on his Instagram page, went viral for his invention called plastoline - a machine that transforms old plastics into useful fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

The star, who was born in Tennessee, United States, had been concerned about environmental problems since he was a teenager and spent years experimenting to create the perfect product before revealing plastoline. He even launched a GoFundMe page called plastic to fuel - Together we will heal earth, with a $1 million goal to make his vision come true. The page has now raised more than $18,000 - with donations still being submitted this month.

His last Instagram post was uploaded on Wednesday July 9, almost three weeks ago, where he spoke directly to the camera and told his fans he was “certainly under attack”.

He continued to say that could not “go into so much detail,” and urged his followers to have their “eyes open.” He finished the video, however, to say that he was still “working” and “building” and added that “nothing” was going to stop that.

Just under a week earlier, on Thursday July 3, he seemed to tell his followers he was worried he was being watched. 'A SECRET Helicopter found circled me in the middle of NOWHERE… and it gets even scarier - Pray for me please,” he said.

Julian has still not posted anything on his Instagram page at the time of writing, on the morning of Tuesday July 29. But, his followers commented to say that they were pleased to have the message from his mum. “I really hope he’s ok. I certainly believe he could be a target due to his invention,” one person said.