THE family of missing man Mark ‘Rubber’ Duffy fear he has been killed and secretly buried by a drugs gang.
Mark’s distraught sister Leia Duffy, 39, made the claim as detectives continue to investigate the dad of two’s disappearance on October 3, 2022.
Mark, 43, who was vulnerable and battled addiction, was last seen alive at 2.45pm as he crossed the Commons Road in Navan, Co Meath.
He was also seen collecting his social welfare payment that morning.
Despite extensive searches over the last two-and-a-half years, Gardai have been unable to locate him — or establish any “proof of life”.
As his heartbroken family prepare to meet investigators, they revealed for the first time how they believe he was killed after he was wrongly accused of stealing drugs from a local mob.
The family also suffered further tragedy when Mark’s ex-partner Sharon passed away from natural causes on December 29, 2002.
Leia told The Irish Sun on Sunday: “Even if the Kinahans had been after Mark he would have returned home to be with his children when their mother passed away.
“We firmly believe he was lured to his death and then buried somewhere because they wrongly believed he had taken their drugs.
“Mark didn’t have a bad bone in his body and there’s no way he would have done something like this.
“He was about to start a new job as a foreman in Cork and would never have jeopardised this.
“The Gardai are aware of this and we have no doubt that this case should now be a murder inquiry.”
She continued: “Mark loved the ground his kids walked on and would never ever have abandoned them. Our family is broken over this.
“He didn’t have the means to disappear and we know he is dead. Anytime I needed him he was there and it’s hard to believe he is gone.
“This is not about revenge or retribution — we just want someone to make an anonymous call and tell us where he is so we can bury him with my father Fergus.
“We don’t want to be like those other poor families who have had to wait years for answers — we just want him back.
“I think he didn’t see what was coming and was lured to his death as he was so trusting.”
MURDER PROBE CALLS
Mark’s son Evan also spoke for the first time about his family’s ongoing trauma.
He said: “I don’t care about people being held accountable — I just want my dad home.
“We just want to lay him to rest — we can’t continue like this. Our lives have been turned upside down,we just want a place to go so we can pay our respects to him.
“My dad would never have left his children this long, we just need one person to tell us where he is.”
Leia added: “When we meet with the Gardai we will be pressing for a murder inquiry to be established.
“We want the full resources of a murder inquiry because my brother didn’t just vanish into thin air.
“He was last seen near the railway lines. Mark’s addiction only took hold after he struggled with the passing of his father in December 2021.
“He was in a bad place in the ten months before he went missing and did not deserve this.
“If he did have some kind of debt then it could have been resolved — so many lives have been affected by this nightmare.”
As the investigation continues, we can reveal officers are examining data from Mark’s Snapchat account after detectives obtained a court order in the US.
They’ve also taken 40 statements and continue to trawl CCTV footage from the day of his disappearance.
We also understand they have identified a “person of interest”, who’s currently in prison.
He was the individual who had driven Mark to collect his social welfare payment.
Cops have also identified three other individuals, but none have yet given any credible information.
We truly believe Mark is not alive anymore because there is not a shadow of doubt he would have come back — the kids were his life.”
Mark’s mother, Martina
Detectives believe the inmate is the same man who brought Mark to collect his social welfare payment on the same morning that he went missing.
They are also examining claims a number of individuals were overheard in a pub speaking about how Mark would “never be found”.
Officers recovered Mark’s social welfare card and receipts but have yet to locate his phone.
At present, the case is classified as a “missing persons” case.
‘I KNOW HE’S GONE’
Mark’s mother Martina also urged anyone with information to come forward, adding: “My son was the life and soul of the party and we all just miss him so much.
“I know he’s gone and I won’t be around forever to lay him to rest with my husband.”
She continued: “It breaks my heart seeing his poor children suffer and he would be very proud of them because they have handled this trauma with great dignity.”
Martina added: “He has been threatened in the past because of his problems with addiction. But nobody deserves this.
“It’s awful to think he has been out there for almost three years.
MARK ‘POSED NO THREAT’
“I don’t know how anyone could do this to someone who just lived for his family. Mark could barely walk because of the limp he had from a previous accident and posed no threat to anyone.
“When he went missing it would have been a busy time — with school collections — and someone must have seen something.
“He interacted with a number of other people throughout the day but none of them have ever reached out and given us any sort of an explanation as to what he was doing.”
His mother went on to say: “We truly believe Mark is not alive anymore because there is not a shadow of doubt he would have come back — the kids were his life.
“He hasn’t got a passport, he didn’t even have a wallet and hasn’t been anywhere.
“So we know he has been taken from us.”
Anyone with any knowledge of Mark’s whereabouts is asked to contact Navan Garda station on 046-9036100 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800666111.
