The family of missing Belfast man John George have said they are “distressed but also relieved” after a body was found in Spain.
Spanish police sources said an arrest has also been made.
The arrested man is believed to be a 32-year-old from Eastern Europe.
Police sources said their investigation remained open and they hadn’t ruled out further arrests.
Although the only person arrested so far is understood to have been held on suspicion of homicide, the alleged perpetrator could have fled the area according to local reports.
Police can hold the man they have in custody for up to 72 hours before handing him over to an investigating judge for further questioning.
Relatives were contacted by Spanish police on Tuesday afternoon saying they had located a body.
The spot where the body was found was under trees on a private property in a rural area of Rojales near Torrevieja, around 45 minutes drive south of Alicante.
A post-mortem is due to take place in the coming hours.
John George was reported missing in December
While formal identification is still to take place, it is understood that clothing and tattoos led the Cuerpo de la Guardia Civil to believe it is Mr George, who has been missing since December 14.
However, DNA testing will now take place to formally identify the 37-year-old father-of-two’s remains.
Relatives are now preparing to bring his remains back to Northern Ireland for burial. KRW Law, which is acting for the family, said they hope their “extremely tortuous search process” is over.
They said: “We can confirm the father of Mr George contacted us today shortly after 5pm to confirm Spanish police told him they had recovered his son’s remains.
“Mr Billy George was told that his son’s body was now in a morgue awaiting formal identification.
“The family are both distressed but also relieved at this latest news.
“It brings to an end an extremely tortuous search process for the body.
“The family want to thank all who have helped and supported them over the last number of days.
“They now respectfully ask for some privacy to allow them both time and space to engage on the next harrowing stages on what is now a formalised murder investigation.”
The disappearance of Mr George has dominated news headlines for more than a fortnight.
Before travelling he had told people someone he knew was opening a business in Spain and he was going for the “grand opening”.
But he vanished after last speaking to his father on December 14.
Despite being booked on a flight home on December 18, he never boarded the plane.
Billy George
His family launched an online appeal for information, saying it was very out of character for him not to phone home. Soon, they began to fear the worst.
His parents, Billy and Sharon, and sisters, Courtney and Caitlin, flew to Spain where they scoured the Alicante region in search of John. The K9 Search and Rescue NI (K9SRNI), a volunteer search and rescue team that uses specialist sniffer dogs, also travelled to Spain to help but returned at the weekend.
The team surveyed an area the size of Tollymore Forest Park in over three days employing drones and search dogs to bolster the effort.
Earlier this week this newspaper reported that one of the suspects linked to Mr George’s disappearance made a phone call to the victim’s family, claiming he had been shot and left somewhere between Torrevieja and Benidorm.
They alleged a gun was used in the murder and taken away by one of the suspects, who said they would “clean it”.
Several suspects have been investigated by Spanish police, including a man from the Czech Republic. All were living in Spain at the time of Mr George’s disappearance.
The two main suspects were said to be blaming each other and refusing to state the location of Mr George’s body to either the family or Spanish authorities.
K9 Search and Rescue NI searching for John George in Spain
The PSNI said previously it had been “liaising closely with the missing man’s family and other law enforcement agencies”.
Shortly before news of the body being discovered emerged, Mr George’s brother insisted he would not be leaving Spain until he finds him — and would even give his own life for his sibling’s return.Darren George joined the hunt on December 23 and has been in Alicante ever since.
“Finding my brother will drive me until I take my last breath,” Darren told this newspaper earlier today, before the body find.
“I would give my own life up to find John. I would give my life up for my mum and dad to lay their son at rest.”
He added: “Every day is a living nightmare. You’re out searching all day and come home with no body found. [It’s like] everywhere you look it’s the same field, the same hill.”
Spanish police believe the father-of-two was shot dead not long after losing contact with his family.
Interpol had become involved with the investigation, which John’s brother Darren hoped would escalate the case and find “answers” they were desperately hoping for.
They became involved following reports that one man in his early 20s with a British passport with links to some of the suspects had fled to Thailand in the wake of the murder.
John and his brother Darren
It had previously been reported that the main suspect had told friends they were also planning to fly to Thailand.
“With Interpol getting involved it’s been escalated in the sense that there will be answers,” Darren said.
“There are rumours that the main suspect is in Thailand. I don’t believe that. I do believe he is in Spain.”
He added that false information appearing online had been misdirecting the family’s search efforts.
On Monday, the Belfast Telegraph revealed a conversation in which a suspect linked to Mr George’s disappearance told the family that he had been taken in the direction of the Torrevieja area. The suspect claimed he left the apartment unharmed on December 14 with another person, but “didn’t make it to Benidorm”.
Darren had vowed not to leave Spain until the family located the body, despite the Spanish police urging them to put their efforts on hold.
He said: “Once we get John’s body we are out of Spain and we’ll never return to Spain.”
News Catch Up: Tuesday 7th January