Brother of Irish father-of-two missing in Spain makes appeal to find body
John Hardy, also known as John George, disappeared while holidaying in Alicante and was last in touch with his family on December 14
The brother of a Belfast man believed dead after going missing in Spain has made a plea for any information after a Northern Ireland rescue team travelled to Alicante to search with dogs and a drone.
John George, also known as John Hardy, had been holidaying in Alicante and was last in touch with his family on December 14.
The 37-year-old was reported missing four days later after he failed to board his flight home to Northern Ireland. His family believe the father-of-two is dead.
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His brother, Darren, is in Alicante helping in the search with their parents, Billy and Sharon, and sisters, Courtney and Caitlin, along with up to 50 friends and wider family from Northern Ireland.
Members from K9 Search And Rescue NI, a volunteer canine search team, joined the wide-scale operation to find Mr George and officers from the PSNI are liaising with the family and authorities in Spain.
Darren George told PA news agency: "A lot of people are over showing us their support.
"We also can see the support from back home, which is fantastic, and that's what's giving us the energy and the strength to actually go forward.
"But the searches can be very frustrating as we're getting no answers at the end of them. It's very frustrating and we are being left very angry.
"Someone knows where John is. They need to give it up, and they need to give the location, whether it's done anonymously.
"This isn't going to stop and certainly we're not going to go away until we get John's body. We get John's body, we're on the next flight out of here.
"Somebody has answers and we will not leave Spain without John's body."
He added: "John was happy-go-lucky guy. John would have rang you at any time of the day or night.
"So when we didn't get the phone call from John within two days, we knew something was wrong.
"He was a very good boxer when he was younger, and was an all-Ireland champion. He's a normal, average guy.
"Don't get me wrong, John had his troubles: John was a drug addict, it took over John's life."
Darren George said his two young nephews are asking for their father.
"John would never have missed Christmas with his boys," he added.
"My parents are completely broken people. My dad's had a heart attack and my mum's has had two strokes. They're just two broken-hearted parents looking for their son.
"It's absolutely hateful. We are a normal family. It's torture."
Mr George spoke to his father by phone on December 14.
His family said he sounded "distressed", and he was urged by his father to travel home immediately.
Darren George also spoke of his anger at what he said is "people taking pleasure" in his family's suffering after malicious comments were posted online about his brother.
He also rejected claims his family are under death threats from paramilitaries in Northern Ireland.
Members of the K9 team travelled back to Northern Ireland on Sunday following a five-day search in the Alicante region.
Seven search technicians and their Labrador retriever Rocko had taken part in the operation.
Team member Gabriel Walker said they were joined by a Portuguese-based search and rescue team, including their dog Lobo.
Mr Walker said there was a huge amount of planning and preparation ahead of their search.
"The search area was a mixture of rural and urban areas, and that included the likes of scrubland, forestry, gorges and water," Mr Walker said.
"Those were all searched by our search technicians on foot, as well as the two dogs and the drone. That was searching in the heat, from dusk till dawn during those four days.
"Missing person searches are bread and butter, so we utilised the exact same approach and skills that we would use to the missing person searches that we attend locally, but this was in a brand new climate that was new to all of us.
"That did come with its own own challenges. The heat was definitely one. We're not used to working in that type of heat and it did put a lot of strain on us, particularly on the dogs.
"It is a different type of terrain, but we just defaulted to our training, and it served us really well."
He added: "The fact that we were able to bring a professional, specialist search capability to add to the search for John brings an extra reassurance to the family and that everything's being done to find John."
"The family and friends were out on the ground searching shoulder to shoulder with us at times.
"To have such a strong support from the Northern Irish community who flew out out to Alicante was really amazing.
"We were totally bowled over by the support that we and John's family are receiving."
A spokesman for the PSNI said: "Following a report to the Police Service of Northern Ireland on Wednesday December 18 that a 37-year-old man from Belfast, holidaying in Spain, was missing, the Police Service of Northern Ireland have been liaising closely with the missing man's family and other law enforcement agencies.
"Dedicated family liaison officers have been appointed to provide support to the family at this time.
"While the investigation must be progressed by Spanish police, the PSNI have made an offer of assistance to police in Spain and will assist with any local enquiries as requested by them.
"We would ask anyone who believes they may have information which could assist the Spanish investigation team with their investigation to contact us on 101."
Guardia Civil has been contacted for comment.
Donations to K9 Search and Rescue NI can be made through their website https://www.k9searchandrescueni.org/.
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