THE family of a missing Belfast man believes one of his acquaintances has fled Spain following his widely-publicised disappearance.
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 and Torrevieja.
His sister Courtney George told El Español: “It’s been the worst New Year’s Eve of our lives, I don’t want it to be 2025.”
Relatives, including John’s father Billy George, are convinced he was murdered after being ‘lured’ to Spain under ‘false’ pretences of a holiday.
Hundreds of people attended a vigil in Belfast last night as they demanded answers from those who know what happened.
John arrived to Alicante on December 4 and was due to fly back to Belfast on December 18 for Christmas, but never made his flight.
Courtney claimed: “His friend is the main suspect. He is not a good person, he was dangerous and had drugs and weapons.”
She said the friend, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has offered no help to find John and could have fled to Thailand immediately after the alleged crime – although she admitted they have no concrete evidence to support that theory.
Sources from the Judicial Police of Pilar de la Horadada told El Español that the case is still being treated as missing persons investigation – despite previous reports in Northern Irish media that it was being treated as a crime.
Courtney added: “Family members, friends and people from Belfast have come who want to help look for his body. We are a big family, and John was well known and loved.
“We are searching in Alicante, Benidorm and Torrevieja. We only want his body back, that is why we are offering a large reward. We want to go home to bury him and never return to Spain again.”
She admitted than Spanish police ‘are helping’ but that the police system is ‘very different’ from Belfast.
Other family members criticised Spanish authorities at the outset of the search for what they initially perceived as inaction.
It comes after 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.
