Missing Belfast man John Hardy’s father has issued an emotional Christmas plea for help in locating his son.
Billy George said they urgently need help on the Costa Blanca where he spent Christmas Day searching for his son, with concerns that he may have been the victim of a violent crime.
Mr Hardy also known as John George hasn’t been in contact with his family since December 14.
The father of two was due to board a plane on Wednesday, December 18 but never arrived at the airport and has vanished without a trace.
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Police believe a criminal — who was originally from Newtownards but is now living in Spain — may have information about Mr Hardy’s whereabouts, but they have so far been unable to contact him.
Mr Hardy’s family were previously unaware of any connection between the two men and have said the man has refused to speak to the family about Mr Hardy and has shut off all social media.
A video being shared on social media shows Mr Hardy in an apartment in Spain.
While it shows that he did arrive at a destination, it is unclear if the footage was recorded in Benidorm or in Torrevieja where the man in the video has been living since leaving Northern Ireland earlier this year. The footage shows an apparently intoxicated Mr Hardy in an apartment dressed in a baseball cap and T-shirt, and he mentions being in Spain.
A tall thin man in the background, can be heard speaking on a mobile phone.
The video is just 26 seconds long and Mr Hardy claims to be in the company of Russians.
However, a Russian translator confirmed the man is not speaking either Russian or Ukrainian.
The PSNI, who are working with the Spanish police, are aware of the recording.
Mr Hardy left Belfast telling his family he was going to visit a friend for a holiday.
Billy George said that the areas where his son was last seen are vast and that they require local knowledge and help.
He urged people in the region to help.
“We need anyone with knowledge of this area, we are having trouble with translation and could really use an interpreter or someone with trained search dogs to help us,” he said.
He also asked if anyone in the Alicante region with drones could help them with the search.
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The emotional father said that he is worried vital evidence is being missed as his son’s disappearance is being treated as a missing person, rather than as the victim of a crime.
“We know the car John was travelling in and it should really have been seized by now for examination”, he said.
“The person John was with won’t help us, I rang him and he answered but wouldn’t tell me where he was so I could go and speak to him, try and work out John’s last movements to narrow the search, but he put the phone down and then switched it off.”
Mr George also said false information had been deliberately put online to try and mislead those who were searching for his son.
“This is torture, our worst nightmare, I need my son back, I can’t just leave here knowing he is out there somewhere”, he added.
The missing man’s sister Courtney George has been coordinating the search from her home in Belfast and organised a GoFundMe to raise funds to help get family and friends to Spain to help with the search.
So far the Get John Home fund has raised more than £14,000.
The PSNI said they received a missing person’s report in relation to Mr Hardy, adding: “Enquiries are ongoing in conjunction with our international policing partners.”