The family of Jón Jónsson, the Icelandic tourist who went missing in Dublin, Ireland two weeks ago, has been joined by ten Icelanders and dozens of Irish volunteers in their ongoing search for their missing loved one, RÚV reports. Although the family says that the Irish Garda has been keeping them well-updated on the search and has been collaborating with Icelandic police as well, authorities have yet to turn up any definitive clues about what happened to Jón. His family, however, isn’t giving up and staged another extensive search on Saturday morning, which, Vísir reports, as many as 100 locals took part in.
Jón Jónsson went missing in the Whitehall neighbourhood of Dublin while on holiday with his girlfriend. He is 6 ft [1.8 m], of medium build, and was wearing a black padded jacket when he was last seen. He left the Bonnington Hotel at 11:05am without his wallet, passport, or phone; he has not been heard from or seen since he was then caught by CCTV shortly afterwards, travelling down Swords Road on foot.
An Irish volunteer named Eamon Connolly spoke to RÚV about the local support that Jón’s family has received. “I don’t find it strange myself,” he said. “I just find when there is a situation like this, people rally around—community spirit. And it’d be a similar situation, I’d say, if there was an Irishman lost in Iceland.” Eamon noted that volunteers have made inquiries throughout the city centre, including at hostels, homes, and pubs, and “talking to people, putting a lot of posters up.”
Searches have also been made of the surrounding areas and with the long-distance collaboration of ICE-SAR, Icelandic Search and Rescue, volunteers in Dublin have been able to map which areas have been searched using Google Earth and Google Maps.
Two of Jón’s brothers discussed his situation on a popular Icelandic talk show and his family is maintaining a Facebook page—Jon Jonsson missing in Dublin—with updates about the search (in English) as well as links to their GoFundMe account.
Anyone with information about Jón’s whereabouts or disappearance are asked to contact Ballymun Garda Station on 01 6664400, The Garda Confidential Telephone Line 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station. People who wish to volunteer by distributing missing persons flyers or to assist with the family’s ongoing search efforts can also be in touch at [email protected].
