Laurence Dollimore
A 32-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested for homicide over the disappearance and suspected murder of John George in Alicante.
The man, who is Eastern European, was cuffed by the Guardia Civil on Tuesday for his alleged connection to the murder, reports Informacion.
The body of John, 37, was believed to have been found by Spanish police on Monday afternoon, with official confirmation via fingerprints or DNA pending.
The corpse was said to be in an advanced state of decomposition and hidden among trees on a country estate in Rojales, according to police sources quoted by Informacion.
They said the body was found by the Guardia Civil, who immediately called in forensics to carefully remove it ahead of identification and an autopsy.
The sources added that further arrests have not been ruled out as the main perpetrator of the murder could still be at large.
John (pictured above), 37, was last heard from on December 14, when he made a ‘distressing’ phone call to his family.
He was due to drive from Alicante to Benidorm that day but never arrived, with loved ones having insisted early on that he was ‘lured’ to Spain for a holiday before being shot to death by an acquaintance.
The George family’s solicitor firm KRW said in a statement that the discovery of a body ends ‘an extremely tortuous process.’
It said John’s father Billy George notified them shortly after 5pm that Spanish police believed they had found the body, sparking an official murder investigation.
KRW Law added: “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.”
Dozens of supporters have flown in from Northern Ireland to help his family search the coastline and ‘areas of interest’.
His father Billy, sister Courtney, brother Darren and multiple other relatives are among those to have scoured different parts of Alicante over the past couple of weeks, including Cabo Roig and Torrevieja.
A specialist K9 unit was also flown in from Northern Ireland, but returned home at the weekend after being unable to track John down.
