Missing Benidorm dad's 'distressing' last phone call as family say 'we know he's dead'
John Hardy, 37 travelled to Spain to see friends and was due back home to spend Christmas with his sons but never arrived - now his family has flown out in search of answers
The shattered brother of a missing father-of-two has vowed his family will not stop until they find him and bring him back home.
The search began for John Hardy, also known by the name John George, on December 18 after the 37-year-old missed his flight home for Christmas with his children. Three weeks prior, he had travelled to Spain to see friends and failed to return.
John had contacted his family confirming he was en route to Belfast from Alicante, but he never arrived. Since December 14, his mobile phone has been inactive, leading his family to fly out to the popular holiday location to look for him.
John's relatives expressed grave concern over his mysterious absence, claiming that he sounded "distressed" during the last phone conversation they had with him.
Adding to their distress is the fear that Spanish authorities may overlook crucial clues because John's case is merely handled as a missing persons file, reports Belfast Live.
While speaking to the publication from Alicante on Saturday, Darren, John’s younger brother said the situation has torn his family apart.
"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.
"Every local out here in Spain has been supporting us too. They've been out with dogs and drones helping us look. My mum and dad are out here together with my sisters and partners and John's partner. But we're having to scour through thousands of acres every day.
"Christmas Eve and Day was spent searching fields and today we're down at the beach and marina area. We're searching from morning to night and there's been no let up at all since we got over here this week."
Darren added: "As a family, we will not stop until we find him but at the minute we've very little to go on. We're praying for someone to come forward anonymously and give us a bit of information so that we can recover his body and get him home.
"We know John is dead and not missing so we just need to get him back. There's a £30,000 reward from family and friends for any information that leads us to him so we want somebody to come forward from any of his friends. We just need this nightmare to end and we're doing everything in our power to find him.
"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."
The family expressed their deep appreciation for the widespread support they've received during this harrowing time and has set up a GoFundMe page that has already raised more than £19,000.
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