THE IRISH cops have travelled to Iceland as part of their ongoing probe into the disappearance of an Icelandic man in Dublin six years ago.
Jon Jonsson, 41, travelled to Ireland to play at the 2019 Dublin Poker Festival, but vanished within 24 hours of arrival.
Investigating detectives made a fresh appeal for information about his sudden disappearance as they recently stepped up the investigation into his disappearance in recent months.
The father of four was reported to have vanished after leaving the Bonnington Hotel on Swords Road in North Dublin in February 2019.
He left his hotel room without his phone, passport and wallet, although he may have had a large sum of cash with him.
Since early March 2019, when Icelandic search and rescue teams searched a defined search area in the city after receiving a tip that suggested he may have gotten into a taxi, the case has made little to no progress.
Five gardai from the Ballymun station will spend the week in Reykjavik, Iceland, interviewing 45 Icelandic citizens in hopes of obtaining information that may help pinpoint his whereabouts.
Detective Superintendent Alan Brady revealed they are there for a number of purposes.
Talking to RTE News, he said: “We came here to interview a large number of people who we think may have some information in relation to where Jon is.
“We’ve also come here to appeal to the Icelandic public for help in finding Jon.
“We believe that whatever happened to Jon did happen to him in Dublin, but the answers to what happened to Jon may lie here amongst the Icelandic community.”
He added: “Jon’s family have been going through heartbreak for the last six and a half years. We’re here to try and find answers for them. No family should have to ensure that they’ve gone through.”
RESPONSE ‘POSITIVE’
Talking to the Iceland Review, Icelandic Detective Eirikur Valberg said: “We’ve contacted nearly everyone on the list provided by the Irish police, and the response has been very positive.
“People are showing up and are willing to give statements.”
However, he declined to comment on whether any of the individuals had any connections to the case or Jon himself.
The interviews are scheduled to take place this week, with Eirikur hoping that they will shed new light on his disappearance.
‘WHERE IS JON?’
He added: “Of course, that is our hope—but we don’t know in advance what will come of this. Still, we wouldn’t be undertaking such extensive efforts if we didn’t believe they could yield results.”
The documentary podcast series ‘Where is Jon?’ (‘Hvar er Jon?’) focused on his sudden disappearance, which was collaboratively produced by Ireland’s national broadcaster RTE and the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RUV.
In the final episode, which aired in March, the two anonymous letters that are being discussed by the investigating teams were revealed.
It was pointed out that the letters were delivered to the Gardai one year apart, suggesting that Jon may be buried in a garden.
However, the location of the potential site of his burial was not disclosed.
