The sobbing former football idol called his family in the middle of the night from a pier, vowing to throw himself off.
His frantic relatives in Newcastle immediately alerted pals as well as staff at a clinic near his south coast flat where he has been treated for his alcoholism.
They found him wandering on Boscombe Pier at 4am on Wednesday and took him back to his Bournemouth home.
He has not been seen since.
Friends of the ex-England star say he is now in the worst physical and mental state they have seen after a week of drunken incidents.
One said: "We want him to realise he has one more chance to save himself but it really doesn’t look good.”
Former Spurs and Newcastle star Gazza ended up on the pier after being asked to leave a casino in the city centre when he became abusive.
The friend said: “Paul called his family in Newcastle and then he called one of his sisters. He was rambling but he mentioned jumping off the pier.
"His family were frantic. They knew they needed to get someone to him quick.”
Gazza, 46, was arrested last week for allegedly assaulting ex-wife Sheryl, 47, in a drunken row at a train station.
He was later photographed propped up outside a London hotel with two gin bottles in his pockets and hotel staff coming to his aid.
The soccer hero had been staggering around on crutches.
He ended up in London’s Princess Grace Hospital and was kept in overnight but discharged himself the next day.
Pals say he seems to have accepted he will end up like troubled football legend George Best, who died after years of alcohol abuse.
Yesterday he reportedly told a friend he had been off the booze for a few days and is determined to win his battle.
But a worried pal said: “Gazza knows it is serious, we just all hope and pray he realises it could be the end of him if he doesn’t get proper treatment quick.
"People want to help him.”
WE TELL IT AS IT IS - NO BULLSHIT!
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Only 5% Wanted Pardew - What's The Percentage Now? PLEASE VOTE
Mike Ashley stunned us all ... and I mean ALL ... when he sacked Chris Hughton and brought in Alan Pardew.
Apparently, Ashley knows Pardew from a London casino the pair used to visit, and the former West Ham boss talked his way into the job.
At the time the appointment was made, ourselves (NU-MAD) and the Chronicle held a poll to ask the Newcastle fans if they were happy with the new manager.
Both polls showed only 5% of Toon fans were happy, and if the truth was known, I'd say 3% of those were Mackems gatecrashing the voting!
So ... with Pardew two and half years into the job ... has he turned the voting around? Has he won you over?
We were still in the relegation dog-fight until Swansea won at Wigan a week before the season ended, and there was growing concern after heavy home defeats to Sunderland and Liverpool.
Pardew gave his excuses, saying his squad was "wafer thin and too small to tackle a long season".
Yet on Thursday - having lost Steve Harper, Danny Simpson, James Perch and Dan Gosling on the way to Crystal Palace (FOUR PLAYERS LESS) he said: "I'm not too concerned because we have a big squad".
Confused? We certainly were.
So click the button - PLEASE VOTE.
Is he the man for the job ... or not?
VOTE HERE ....
http://www.newcastleunited-mad.co.uk/interactive/voting_polls.asp