Missing Person Search – Sligo

3 December 2014

On Thursday 27th November a search commenced for a missing person from the Ballymote area, last seen in a white van. On Friday 28th November, a Search and Rescue helicopter noticed ‘something’ in the water in Lough Gara in the Cloonloo area of the county. At this point An Garda Síochána requested Sligo Civil Defence to launch a boat to ascertain what the object was. As it was late in the evening Liam Kearns, a Civil Defence boat team member who lives in the area and who has his own boat launched and following inspection informed the Gardaí that there was a white van in the Lough Gara waters.

On the morning of Saturday 29th November a Civil Defence boat team, together with Garda divers assisted the Boyle Fire Brigade in recovering the vehicle and then continuing with the search for the missing person. A body was subsequently found and the search was stood down.

Civil Defence members from the Gurteen class attended throughout the morning of the search and providing whatever assistance they could including refreshments to all in attendance and this gesture was gratefully acknowledged by the family and friends of the person including the local priest who attended at the scene.