Latest news with #JónJónsson
RTÉ News
13 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Gardaí to conduct interviews in Iceland over Jónsson case
Gardaí are due to go to Iceland next week to interview a number of people as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Icelandic man Jón Jónsson, police in Iceland have confirmed. The 41-year-old disappeared in Dublin while attending the Dublin Poker Festival with his partner in 2019. He was last seen exiting the Bonnington Hotel and walking down the Swords Road past the entrance to Highfield Hospital, heading towards the Collins Avenue junction, on 9 February 2019. In a statement, police in Iceland said gardaí would speak to around 35 people in Iceland in relation to the case. They said police in Iceland would assist gardaí in their work. Tips submitted to gardaí as a result of the 'Where is Jón?' podcast series from RTÉ and RÚV, the public service broadcaster in Iceland, resulted in new searches in April across a number of areas in Dublin with the assistance of human remains detection dogs.
Irish Times
14 hours ago
- Irish Times
Gardaí to interview dozens in Iceland over potential murder of Jón Jónsson in Dublin
Garda detectives are to travel to Iceland next week to interview dozens of people about the disappearance and potential murder of Jón Jónsson , who disappeared in Dublin five years ago. Mr Jónsson went missing after visiting from Iceland with his partner to play in a poker tournament. His family believes he may have been murdered by a paid hitman in a case of mistaken identity. One line of investigation is the hitman intended to target a different Icelandic man visiting Ireland at the time. Gardaí have recently stepped up their investigation into Mr Jónsson's disappearance. Several fresh searches have been conducted in Dublin in recent months and there has been extensive co-operation with Icelandic police. READ MORE This weekend, a Garda team will travel to the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik where they have arranged to interview at least 35 people connected to Mr Jónsson or who may have knowledge of the events surrounding his disappearance. The visit is being facilitated and organised by Icelandic police. It is separate to ongoing co-operation between the two police forces regarding the murder of two French citizens in Reykjavik last week who had been living in Ireland. A missing person poster in Dublin of Jon Jónsson who vanished in Dublin in 2019 after coming to play poker. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons/ The Irish Times Gardaí involved in the Jónsson case believe there are people who may have knowledge of the man's disappearance who are not comfortable speaking to Icelandic police. They hope they will be more willing to speak to Irish officers. The visit is expected to coincide with a renewed public appeal for information in Iceland including a press conference. On Thursday, Icelandic police said the courts have approved the Garda visit and Icelandic officers will be available to assist their Irish counterparts. The interviews will be carried out by gardaí but under close supervision by Icelandic authorities. Gardaí will not have any powers to arrest or charge people. In April, investigating gardaí carried out four new searches in Dublin with the help of cadaver dogs. [ 'I'm almost certain something happened': Family fear missing Jón Jónsson was killed by hitman in case of mistaken identity Opens in new window ] The searches were carried out at several locations after people provided information to gardaí following the airing of an RTÉ documentary podcast series on Mr Jónsson's disappearance. Gardaí also travelled to the headquarters of Europol in The Hague in the Netherlands where they met Icelandic police and formulated a strategy to step up the investigation. During the meeting, gardaí provided their counterparts with a list of people in Iceland they would like to speak to. Mr Jónsson, a father of four and taxi driver, vanished on February 9th, 2019, after leaving the Bonnington Hotel on the Swords Road in north Dublin. He left the hotel on foot at about 11am and was recorded by a security camera 200m away passing the entrance to a nursing home next to the hotel. Beyond those images gardaí had no information about where he went and no trace of him has ever been uncovered. He had never been to Ireland before, had no friends or family here and had never gone missing before.
Irish Times
16-05-2025
- Irish Times
Psychic ‘visions' lets to fresh searches for missing Icelandic man Jón Jónsson
Tip-offs from two psychic mediums led gardaí to conduct fresh searches for the remains of Icelandic man Jón Jónsson last month. Mr Jónsson, a father of four and taxi driver, disappeared without a trace in 2019, after leaving a Dublin hotel where he was taking part in a poker tournament. The Garda has not yet upgraded his case to a homicide investigation but it has stepped up co-operation with the Icelandic police. Mr Jónsson's case was the subject of a podcast series produced by RTÉ and Icelandic public broadcaster RÚV. READ MORE Following the airing of the podcast earlier this year, gardaí received several tip-offs from the public, including from two separate psychics. One clairvoyant told gardaí Mr Jónsson was buried near a tree in Santry Demesne, an area of parkland that had already been searched by investigators. This led gardaí to conduct of a fresh search of a small area of the park last month using cadaver dogs. Around the same time, another medium claimed to have had a vision of Mr Jónsson suffering a medical issue in a farm area near Collins Avenue, leading to his death. Another search using dogs was carried out in the area. Two other areas were also searched for unrelated reasons. In all cases, nothing was found. It is not unusual for psychics to offer their services to gardaí in high-profile missing persons cases. It is understood a number of psychics have come forward offering assistance in the disappearance of Kerry farmer Michael Gaine who disappeared on March 21st, last. In 1996, gardaí investigating the disappearance of Josephine 'Jo Jo' Dullard searched a area of bog in Co Offaly after a clairvoyant claimed her body was concealed there. In 2012, gardaí investigating the murder of Bobby Ryan, a Tipperary DJ known as Mr Moonlight, sent divers to search an area in Ardmore in Co Waterford following a tip-off from a water diviner. Mr Ryan's body was later found in a water tank yards from where he was last seen in Tipperary. Garda sources said it is important to examine all leads in a missing person investigation. 'People may come to you with information they say they got in a vision. But who's to say they didn't come across it in some other way which they may not want to disclose? You have to chase everything down.' However, they added that they are not aware of any investigations where tip-offs from psychics have led to a breakthrough.
Irish Times
12-05-2025
- Irish Times
Gardaí investigating disappearance of Jón Jónsson conduct new searches
Gardaí investigating the disappearance of Icelandic man Jón Jónsson in Dublin six years ago have carried out four new searches with the help of cadaver dogs. The searches were carried out at several locations in north Dublin last month after a number of people provided information to gardaí following the airing of an RTÉ documentary podcast series on Mr Jónsson's disappearance. Gardaí have also travelled to the headquarters of Europol in The Hague in the Netherlands where they met Icelandic police and formulated a strategy to step up the investigation. This will involve gardaí travelling to Iceland in the coming weeks to interview people who may have knowledge of what happened to Mr Jónsson. READ MORE Mr Jónsson, a father of four and taxi driver, vanished on February 9th, 2019, after leaving the Bonnington Hotel on the Swords Road in north Dublin, where he had been staying. He had come to Ireland with his fiancée for a poker tournament and short holiday in Ireland. The missing man, who was aged 41 years at the time he vanished, left the hotel on foot at about 11am and was recorded by a security camera 200m away passing the entrance to a nursing home next to the hotel. Beyond those images gardaí had no information about where he went and no trace of him has ever been uncovered. He had never been to Ireland before, had no friends or family here and had never gone missing before. [ 'I'm almost certain something happened': Family fear missing Jón Jónsson was killed by hitman in case of mistaken identity Opens in new window ] The Garda said the investigation has created more than '270 jobs or lines of enquiries', taken numerous statements and reviewed hours of CCTV footage. In 2024, investigators search part of Santry Demesne following an anonymous tip-off but found no sign of the missing man. Last month, they returned to the park to search two further areas, including a wooded area near the lake. Investigators also searched an area near Collins Avenue and an area of wasteland in the Highfield area which had previously been searched. Nothing of evidential value was discovered. Two of the searches were conducted due to information received by listeners to the podcast. The Jónsson family had been campaigning for gardaí to launch a wider search of the park and its lake. 'The search has not been properly done,' David Karl Wiium, brother of Mr Jónsson said in March. 'I'm not suggesting they dig the whole park up. But we want to get better answers.' During their meeting with Icelandic police last week in the Netherlands, gardaí provided a list of people in Iceland they would like to speak to. The Icelandic police agreed to facilitate a visit by gardaí to Iceland in the near future and to provide police officers and translators to assist. Gardaí also intend to use the visit to publicly appeal to Icelandic people with information to come forward to them. They believe there may be people with information who would feel more comfortable dealing with the gardaí rather than the Icelandic police. [ Gardaí enlist Europol to assist in case of missing Icelandic man Jón Jónsson Opens in new window ] Mr Jónsson's disappearance has not been upgraded to a murder inquiry. However, a source in Iceland told the podcast producers about a man who claimed to have killed Mr Jónsson, having intended to murder someone else. The information tallied with two other tip-offs received independently by Mr Jónsson's sister and stepbrother. In response to queries, Garda headquarters declined to confirm details of the fresh searches but appealed for people with information to come forward. 'The investigation team at Santry and Ballymun continue to liaise closely with Icelandic police and the Jónsson family. Enquiries are also being conducted with Europol with regards to this investigation,' a spokesman said. 'Anyone who has any information on Jón's disappearance or who can assist in locating him is asked to contact Ballymun Garda station on 01 6664400, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.'
