Major underwater search operation takes place for NI man missing for four months

A major underwater search operation took place in Larne on Sunday in the hunt for missing man Gary Patterson.

Searches for the 45-year-old have now entered their fifth month, with specialist dive teams now being drafted in to search Larne Lough.

Mr Patterson was last spotted on CCTV leaving his flat in the Priory Gardens area of the town on October 12 2024, before withdrawing £100 from an ATM at a Tesco Express on Larne’s Main Street.

Since then, heartbroken relatives and volunteers have searched the small coastal town in the hope of locating him.

On Sunday, specialist divers from the Tyrone Underwater Search and Rescue team entered the Lough and a body of water close to the A8 carriageway in the town.

Speaking from the waterside to the Belfast Telegraph, Gary’s brother Simon said: “We will never give up, we will just keep searching.

“We have two boats out on the Lough today and one here in the water doing sonar checks.

“If anything is found, the divers will come in.”

During searches earlier this week, Simon told the Belfast Telegraph: “It’s getting to the stage where we’re looking for a body.

“I don’t want that to be the case but if it is the case and he is out there we’ll have to find him.”

Specialist underwater teams spent Sunday morning in torrential rain and heavy winds searching a body of water near the A8 carriageway and the nearby Larne Lough.

Tyrone Underwater Search and Rescue diver Malachy Foye said: “We reached out to Simon and the family to see if we could help locate Gary.

“We brought two teams down today to attack it from all angles. Obviously the Lough is a lot deeper and a lot faster flowing, but this area here at the station has its own challenges, with steep flowing water and very shallow areas too.”

Last month Simon made an emotional plea for anyone with information to come forward to the police.

“Please, please, please – the smallest thing could lead to something great,” he said.

Gary is an avid collector of DVDs, described as quiet and “a wee bit of a loner”, by his brother.

He was known to be proud of his flat where he lived alone and “was set in his routine”, usually returning home by 4pm.

At the time of his disappearance, Mr Patterson was wearing a distinctive black and yellow chequered jacket, jeans and a dark beanie.

A Facebook page with more than 15,000 followers called ‘Let’s Find Gary’ is dedicated to sharing updates and organising future search efforts.