Body of Meath student found after search in Vienna canal

THE body of a young Meath man has been found in an Austrian canal after a week-long search.

Ross Hanlon, 21, from Athboy, went missing after leaving a Vienna nightclub on Friday last week, and his body was found by Austrian police yesterday afternoon.

Mr Hanlon, a business student at Dundalk IT, was found at around 5pm in the Danube canal.

Last night, his brother Craig posted a message on Facebook thanking everyone involved in the search and said the focus was now on getting his sibling’s body back to Ireland.

‘Like to thank everyone for the support. We are going to bring Ross home and give him what he deserves. We all love you so much and we will see you soon, stay strong brother,’ he wrote.

Dozens of people added messages of condolence after his Facebook message.

Craig had set up a GoFundMe page to raise €2,000 to help the Hanlon family stay in Vienna while the search for his sibling continued.

The fund raised over €14,000, mostly from Irish donors. The family also put up posters in Vienna city centre looking for information.

Mr Hanlon was last seen at the Flex nightclub in the Austrian capital just before 2am on Friday of last week, before he became separated from his two friends.

His brother Craig previously said that Austrian police were using sonar in the Danube canal in an effort to find his brother.

For now, Vienna police are treating his death as a tragic accident.

Mr Hanlon, who had celebrated his 21st birthday earlier this month, was a big Conor McGregor fan and was once photographed with the MMA fighter in Las Vegas, in a mock prefight eye-to-eye pose.

Earlier this week, students at Dundalk IT had held a vigil, hoping for his safe return.