Dad-of-two’s last phone call before vanishing on holiday just days before flight home

The family of a man who went missing on holiday in Spain said he sounded ‘distressed’ in his final phone call with them.

John Hardy, also known as John George, was reported missing on December 18 after failing to catch his flight home to Belfast for Christmas.

He had travelled to Alicante, Spain, three weeks earlier to visit friends, but his family became increasingly worried after his phone went dead on December 14.

In his last phone call with his family, John sounded ‘distressed’, prompting them to launch a desperate search across the Spanish countryside to help find him.

John’s brother Darren told Belfast Live the family has been ‘ripped to pieces’ over his disappearance.

He said: ‘We very much stuck in limbo but a lot of people have come from Belfast to help us look for John and there’s more coming every day.

‘The support from Belfast has been unbelievable and there’s about 40 of us now involved in the search.’

The family were also searching for him on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the help of locals who brought out drones and dogs to help in the search.

But Darren said he understands his brother has likely died, despite Spanish police still treating it as a missing persons case.

‘We know John is dead and not missing so we just need to get him back,’ Darren said.

‘Our mum has had two strokes and dad has had a heart attack but they are in their 50s and running around Spain looking for John.

‘Mum is climbing mountains, crawling down caves and knocking doors in.

‘We’re just devastated and heartbroken and John has two young kids at home who just want their daddy back.’

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