Family of missing father in ‘living nightmare’ as body found in Spain
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John George’s family joined volunteers in the search for the 37-year-old before a body was discovered in Rojales on 7 January. A body has been found in the search for a father who went missing while in Spain, with local police arresting a 32-year-old man on suspicion of murder.
![[Family handout photo of John George, (left), also known as John Hardy, with his brother Darren (Family/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/09/11/a6964974810918e287bb90c49da47f0bY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM2NTA0NjYw-2.78621428.jpg)
The alarm was raised for the whereabouts of John George after the “generous” 37-year-old failed to return to his children in Belfast, Northern Ireland before Christmas. His family, including his father Billy and younger brother Darren, joined dozens of volunteers to search the mountains and waste dumps around Alicante.
But on 7 January, a body was discovered in the small village of Rojales, outside of Valencia. A Guarda Civil police spokesperson told The Independent: “At this time, the relevant procedures are being carried out to determine the causes of death and proceed with the identification of the body, although in the absence of forensic results, everything indicates that it could be a missing person whose family reported his disappearance.
“Due to these events, on the same day a 32-year-old man was arrested for an alleged crime of homicide.”. Mr George’s brother Darren, previously told The Independent he feared his brother was dead after disappearing on telling the family he was going to pick up his passport on 14 December.
