Specialist Gardai to begin digging in Dublin park in search for remains of missing tourist

Specialist gardaí are today expected to start digging in a Dublin park for the remains of a missing tourist – after cadaver dogs indicated something might be buried there.

The Irish Mirror has confirmed that dogs sent to Santry Demesne in north Dublin as part of the search for Icelandic national Jon Jonsson indicated at a wooded spot close to the lake.

The dogs are specially trained to indicate the scent of death – but sources said they could also have detected blood.

“It may be something, it may be nothing,” a source said.

READ MORE – Gardai fear missing Icelandic tourist was killed and dumped in Dublin park

But the site was preserved overnight and officers from the Garda Technical Bureau will this morning start digging at the area the dogs indicated.

We reported yesterday that gardai fear Mr Jonsson (41) was killed and buried in the park after he vanished in February 2019.

Officers now suspect Jon Jonsson was killed on the day he vanished in the city five years ago – after a meeting he had organised went wrong.

The police car near the wooded area at Santry Demesne, Dublin, which is being search by Garda officers for missing Icelandic man, Jon Jonsson. The 41-year-old who was visiting Ireland for a poker tournament, left the Bonnington Hotel on the Swords Road on February 9, 2019, and was seen a some time later walking past the entrance to Highfield Hospital. Picture date: Wednesday February 14, 2024.

It’s understood officers believe he had lost thousands of euros while playing poker in Dublin before his disappearance – and was meeting someone to get access to more cash.

But it’s feared the meeting erupted in violence and Mr Jonsson was killed before his body was dumped in a park in Santry, north Dublin on February 9, 2019 – the day he was last seen alive.

Gardaí have now decided to hunt for Mr Jonsson’s body – after receiving two anonymous letters indicating his remains were in the park.

One typed letter was sent anonymously to Ballymun Garda Station – the base of the missing person’s investigation that is hunting for Mr Jonsson – while another was delivered to a priest in the Dublin area.

Although the information was vague, there was enough to persuade detectives that there was a possibility the remains of Mr Jonsson were in the park.

The search began on Tuesday and is set to continue today for a third day.

The search came just days after gardaí urged the mystery letter writer to come forward – and renewed their appeal for help in finding Mr Jonsson.

He was last seen in Whitehall around 11am on Saturday, February 9, 2019 and had been staying at the nearby Bonnington Hotel.

Mr Jonsson is described as six feet in height with a medium build and short brown hair. He was wearing a black padded jacket when he was last seen.

Missing Jon Jonsson

He had a hotel room key card from the Bonnington Hotel in his possession when he went missing.

He and his fiancée had booked a 10-day stay in Dublin to take part in a poker tournament.

More than 270 lines of enquiry have been pursued during the course of the investigation, and numerous statements have been taken. Hours of CCTV footage from the local area have also been reviewed.

Anyone with information in relation to Mr Jonsson’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.

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