John George: Brother of missing Belfast man believed dead says family not leaving Spain ‘without his body’

The brother of a Belfast man believed dead after going missing in Spain has said “someone knows” where his sibling is and the family will not be leaving the country “without his body”.

John George, also known as John Hardy, disappeared while holidaying in Alicante.

The 37-year-old was last in touch with his loved ones on 14 December and was reported missing four days later after he failed to board his flight home.

His family believe the father-of-two is dead.

Volunteers from K9 Search And Rescue NI travelled to Alicante with a dog and drone to help in the hunt for Mr George.

The Northern Ireland canine search team joined up with Mr George’s family – including parents Billy and Sharon, sisters Courtney and Caitlin, and brother Darren – alongside up to 50 friends and wider relatives.

Sibling Darren George said: “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.”

Darren described his brother as a “happy-go-lucky guy”, who was a champion boxer when younger.

He said: “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.”

Darren, who rejected claims his family is under death threats from paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, said his sibling was a “normal, average guy” but he also had his “troubles”.

He explained: “John was a drug addict, it took over John’s life.”

Despite his issues, Darren said his brother 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 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.”

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Mr George spoke to his father on the phone on 14 December.

His family said he sounded “distressed”, and he was urged by his dad to travel home immediately.

Members of the K9 team travelled back to Northern Ireland on Sunday following a multi-day search in the Alicante region.

Seven search technicians and their labrador retriever Rocko took 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: “The search area was a mixture of rural and urban areas, and that included the likes of scrubland, forestry, gorges and water.

“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.”

Mr Walker said despite the challenges caused by the heat and different type of terrain, the team “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 to Alicante was really amazing.”

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it has been “liaising closely” with Mr George’s family and other law enforcement agencies.

All those with information that could help the investigation are being urged to come forward.

A force spokesperson added: “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.”