Michael Gaine friend opens up on 'shocking situation' ahead of sticker campaign
A friend of Kerry cattle farmer Michael Gaine has opened up on the 'shocking situation' his family is enduring as search efforts for the missing man will intensify this weekend.
A special appeal will be launched at the Rally of the Lakes event in Killarney in a desperate bid to find missing Mike (56), who vanished without trace five weeks ago. A close friend of missing Mike, who Gardai fear was killed, revealed his family will step up their campaign to discover what happened to him after his case was reclassified as homicide.
Mr Gaine was last seen in the Co Kerry town of Kenmare on March 20, when he bought phone credit in a local shop. A major search has been ongoing since personal items like his phone and wallet were found in his bronze Toyota RAV4 at his farm the next day.
The Garda criminal investigation was upgraded on Wednesday – and now an increased awareness campaign is being launched, revealed Mike's friend Tommy Randles.
Tommy said: "With the blessing of Mike's family, we are attaching awareness stickers on all 160 cars at the Rally of the Lakes. We'll all wear an awareness sticker and local drivers will display a bigger awareness sticker.
"There are also over 6,5000 programmes going out and there will be stickers on those as well. It's about keeping Mike in the memory. Killarney and District Motor Club are doing as much as they can to bring this situation to an end. It is a shocking situation. It is shocking for Mike's wife Janice and his two sisters Noreen and Catherine, who I know well. It is just terrible."
He added: "Mike's father was Jim. His mother Sheila only passed away in February so the family is going through a double tragedy. Can you imagine losing your mother and your only brother in a very short time. There have been massive crowds on the searches."
Tommy, who is Killarney and District Motor Club chairman, also said: "Mike was a very ordinary man. I've known him since he was about 13 years old. He was farming and driving tractors. He ended up interested in rally cars and motor sport. That was his interest and he competed. One of the famous stages of the rally runs down through Mike's farm."
The Rally of the Lakes is held on Saturday and Sunday and its course will pass avid rally man Mike's farm in Carrig East, Kenmare. After Mike's disappearance was relisted as a homicide, his wife Janice described him as her "best friend, my husband" and said "this whole thing has been devastating". She added: "His disappearance is totally out of character and we knew that from day one."
Some 2,200 hours of CCTV and dash camera footage has been recovered for examination and gardai have taken 130 witness statements as part of the investigation, which is headquartered at Killarney Garda Station. A Garda spokesperson said: "Despite the extensive enquiries carried out so far, An Garda Síochána have not recovered Michael's remains."
Anyone with information is asked to contact Killarney Garda Station on 064 667 1160, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or speak with any members of An Garda Síochána.
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