NINETEEN YEARS AGO tomorrow, 22-year-old Trevor Deely disappeared as he walked home at the end of a night socialising with colleagues at his company’s Christmas party.
The last known sighting of Trevor was captured on CCTV, as he walked with an umbrella towards Baggot Street Bridge.
Almost two decades on, after continued appeals, updated footage and more recently the search of a site in Dublin, the Deely family still do not know what happened to Trevor after this sighting.
On the night of 7 December 2000, Trevor attended his work Christmas party with Bank of Ireland colleagues at the Hilton Hotel on Charlemont Place.
After the party, he moved with some colleagues to Buck Whaleys nightclub on Lower Leeson Street. At around 3.30am on 8 December, Trevor went to the Bank of Ireland Asset Management building, across from Leeson Street Bridge, where he worked.
Footage released by gardaí in recent years shows Trevor interacting with a man outside the gates of the building. Just seconds before this, he had walked by the man, who had been standing at a pillar around the corner in the rain for around half an hour before Trevor came by.
They appear to talk briefly before Trevor goes inside, locking the gate behind him. The other man is not seen again on that CCTV after this point.
Trevor spent almost half an hour in his office having a cup of coffee with a colleague. He took an umbrella from the office as it was still raining heavily.
Footage from outside the building shows him zipping up his coat, putting up the umbrella and heading towards the Baggot Street Bridge.
In 2017, gardaí released newly enhanced footage. The footage, which shows a man walking with an umbrella at around 4am on 8 December 2000, had been widely shared over the 16 years Trevor had been missing.
Gardaí said the enhanced footage made it clear that the man was holding an ACC umbrella and they could be fully satisfied that this man was Trevor. The footage also showed a man in dark clothing passing the camera 34 seconds after Trevor passed it.
Gardaí believe this man is the same man who spoke to Trevor at the gate of his workplace earlier that night.
In August 2017, gardaí launched a search at a wooded area in Chapelizod. Although a gun was discovered at the site, no human remains were found and investigators have been reluctant to link the firearm to the young man’s disappearance.
The search was called off in September that year and gardaí said they had not found anything at the site that would assist them in helping to locate Trevor.
Crimestoppers is still offering a reward for anyone with information in relation to this case and can be contacted anonymously on 1800 25 00 25.
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