Laurence Dollimore
THE family of a missing Belfast man believe he was ‘lured’ to Spain for a holiday before being ‘shot dead’.
John Hardy, aka John George, 37, has been missing from the Alicante region since December 14, when he made a ‘distressed’ phone call to his family.
He had been due to drive from Alicante to Benidorm on that day but is believed to have never arrived.
The search, involving a 50-strong crew of mostly Northern Irish residents, is now focusing on the Cabo Roig area of Alicante.
John’s brother Darren told The Irish News that the incident ‘is all linked back home’, adding: “We were told as soon as we got out here that John had been killed, that he had been shot.
“John was lured here on false information to meet friends on a holiday. John was lured over here to be shot dead… he thought he was coming over here for a few days and would be home after that. But John’s not coming home alive.”
Darren said he believes those responsible carried out the alleged killing in Spain because it would be easier for them to ‘get away with it’.
But he said they have underestimated the amount of support that John has back home.
Echoing John’s cousin’s sentiments last week, he also criticised Spanish police, claiming they are ‘not taking the information we have given them about that seriously.’
He claimed: “When we went to the police station the other day, they told us to leave. They told us to get out and that was that.
“We are getting nowhere with the police services over here, there has been no searches, no dogs, no rescue teams. It’s as if it hasn’t happened.”
Darren went on to admit that John had become involved in the criminal world but was ‘loved unconditionally’.
He said he ‘lived for his kids’ and ‘would have done anything for them’, describing him as the family’s ‘go-to person if you were having a bad day.’
The Alicante Guardia Civil said in a statement: “The Guardia Civil in Alicante were informed of the disappearance of a 37-year-old Irish man on 21 December, by the name of John Hardy.
“From that moment our agents have been carrying out search efforts, and are unable to provide any information at this time.”
Spanish police are known for keeping their cards close to their chests during any investigation.
They very rarely update the press or public until a significant breakthrough is made, especially in the early days of a missing persons case.
