The Gardaí’s Serious Crime Review Team have opened a new cold case investigation into the disappearance of Trevor Deely, who went missing after attending a Christmas party on the 8th of December sixteen years ago.
After enjoying his office party at Buck Whaley’s nightclub on Dublin’s Leeson Street, the then 22-year-old Trevor Deely set off for his home on Serpentine Avenue but never arrived.
The Naas man, who would now be 38 years of age, briefly returned to his workplace, at Bank of Ireland beside Leeson Street Bridge, to check his email and collect a golf umbrella as it was a rainy night and there was a taxi strike in Dublin. He was last spotted on CCTV footage captured at 4.14am on December 8, which showed him crossing Baggot Street Bridge and walking towards Haddington Road (Dublin 4 area). He was wearing a yellow and brown shirt and beige cord trousers.
It wasn’t until the following Monday morning when Trevor didn’t turn up for work that concerns were raised and a massive missing person’s campaign was started by his family, friends and work collegues. A massive search included house-to-house inquiries and an extensive search of the Grand Canal, but nothing was found. Sixteen years on his whereabouts remains a mystery but his safe return is anticipated by his family who have dedicated their lives to finding Trevor since the year 2000.
Yesterday (7th of December) not only marked the night of Trevor’s disappearance but also Ireland’s Missing Persons Day. The day commemorates those who have been reported missing and recognises the ongoing suffering for their families and friends. It also serves to raise public awareness of open or unsolved missing persons cases, and provides a platform to highlight the support services that are available to people who have lost a loved one.
Trevor’s heartbroken parents, Michael and Ann Deely, attended the fourth national Missing Persons Day ceremony at Farmleigh House in Dublin’s Phoenix Park yesterday to commemorate their son and other missing Irish people.
Michael Deely told his local newspaper Kildare Now that he has “renewed hope” as the CCTV footage capturing the last known images of Trevor has now been sent for specialist forensic analysis in the UK:
“I’ve been calling for more resources to be given to the gardai for years to help them solve Trevor’s case and all missing persons cases, and so I’m delighted that Trevor’s case is being looked into again.
There’s a team of five or six gardai that have been appointed to reinvestigate Trevor’s case and I met up with them a couple of weeks ago. There’s no body or no scene for them to go on, but at the moment they’re prioritising the CCTV footage of him and that’s been taken over to an expert team in the UK, where they have more advanced methods of examining the footage than they do here in Ireland.
I’m very pleased that there’ll be some fresh eyes looking into this and it’s certainly given me and my family a big boost to me and my family. I don’t want to raise my hopes up too much at this stage, but at the same time I feel far more hopeful than I have in years.”
He added:
“It’s still our belief that Trevor is alive and I’ll carry on believing that unless it is proved otherwise.”
Six years ago, to mark the tenth anniversary of Trevor’s disappearance, investigating Gardaí released an age-progressed photograph of how Trevor could look in his early thirties.
Any information about Trevor’s disappearance should be passed to Pearse Street Gardaí station at 01-6669000 or any Gardaí station.
Information can also be given in confidence by phoning the Gardaí Confidential line on 1800 666 111
