A 32 YEAR-OLD man has been arrested in connection with the discovery of a body thought to be that of missing Belfast man John George.

The discovery of the body in Spain ends an “extremely tortuous search process”, a statement issued on behalf of his family said yesterday evening.

The 37-year-old west Belfast man had been holidaying in Alicante and was last in touch with his family on December 14.

The father of two was reported missing four days later after he failed to board his flight home to Northern Ireland.

Police have not named the man arrested in connection with the discovery of the body.

The man was reportedly being investigated by the Spanish Civil Guard, the police force which had been leading the hunt for John.

An Alicante-based spokesman for the force said in its first official comment: “Yesterday morning the Civil Guard discovered the body of a man in Rojales.

“The Territorial Judicial Police team of Pilar de la Horadada has been put in charge of the ongoing investigation.

“All the necessary work is being done at the moment to determine the cause of death and confirm the man’s identity.

“Pending the full forensic results everything is pointing to it being a missing person whose family reported his disappearance on 21 December 2024.

“Following the discovery of the body, a 32 year old man was arrested yesterday on suspicion of homicide.

“Further information will be provided as soon as more details become available.”

The police spokesman confirmed the investigation was ongoing amid speculation further arrests could take place in the coming hours.

Police have up to 72 hours from time of arrest to hold the suspect before handing him over to an investigating judge for further questioning, although in exceptional cases they can apply for an extension.

That court appearance would take place behind closed doors at a court in Torrevieja, a 25-minute drive south of Rojales, as is normal in Spain where only trials take place in public.

The judge would have to decide whether to remand the detainee in custody or release him on bail pending an ongoing criminal probe.

Sources close to the investigation said this morning they were “100%” sure he wouldn’t appear in court today and predicted it would be tomorrow at the earliest.

John disappeared after travelling to Alicante in mid-December. He was last in touch with his family on 14 December.

The father of two did not catch a scheduled flight home after what was meant to be a short holiday and was reported missing days later.

John’s brother Darren travelled to Alicante to help in the search with their parents, Billy and Sharon, and sister Courtney and Caitlin, along with up to 50 friends and wider family from Northern Ireland.

On January 1 members of K9 Search And Rescue NI, a Northern Ireland volunteer canine search team, joined the wide-scale operation to find the missing man.

They returned home on Sunday after scouring hundreds of miles of land.