SEARCHES ARE UNDERWAY for Belfast man John George in Alicante, Spain after the father-of-two failed to return home from a holiday last month.
Volunteer search-and-rescue agencies started searching the area this week as family members begged anyone with information about the disappearance of the 37-year-old to come forward.
In an update issued this evening, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it has offered to assist Spanish police with their investigations. The police service also said it has been liaising closely with the family with dedicated officers appointed to provide support.
“While the investigation must be progressed by Spanish police, the Police Service of Northern Ireland have made an offer of assistance to police in Spain and will assist with any local enquiries as requested by them,” a statement issued at 5.20pm said.
It is understood that assistance given will be from Northern Ireland, and will not involve any activity in Spain.
However, it has called on anyone who believes they may have information which could help investigators in Spain to come forward.
“Any photographs or footage, including CCTV, mobile phone or dash cam footage, can be shared with the Police Service of Northern Ireland through the Major Incident Public Portal and that information will be forwarded to Spanish Police,” the PSNI said.
John was last in contact with his family, who believe he has been murdered and buried, by phone on 14 December. He was due to return from Spain on 18 December but never arrived.
K9 Search & Rescue NI, a local Spanish rescue group and a EU volunteer team began large-scale searches of the Alicante area this week. The second day ended inconclusively yesterday.
In a post to Facebook, the group thanked the two other rescue teams who have assisted them in their searches as well as the local police department in Alicante for their support.
Their operation restarted this morning and will continue on into the coming days, the post said. Sally George, the grandmother of John, told UTV News that all she wanted was for her grandson to come home.
“I don’t care what state he’s in, or anything. Get him home to us,” she told the news programme.
She described waiting for updates on John’s whereabouts as a “living nightmare” and said her and her family’s lives are on hold until their loved on comes back home.
A small vigil was held on New Year’s Eve in West Belfast, where John is from, to show solidarity with the George family and ask that John be found and brought home as soon as possible.
John’s father, Bill, has travelled to Spain to assist volunteer teams in their search operations and local police with their enquiries into the disappearance.
He has repeatedly called on members of the public, particularly those who may have been around John in Spain, to provide information to his family or the police – anonymously or not – to help get his son home.
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