Searches to continue for missing Bill Neary
THE SEARCH for a 52-year-old man missing from Wicklow town since St Stephen’s Day will continue into a second week.
William (Bill) Neary was last seen at 8.30 p.m. on St Stephen’s night when he left the Mariner Pub through the back door.
Throughout the week, searches of the coast and Wicklow Bay were carried out by the Garda Síochána, Wicklow RNLI, the Coast Guard, Helicopter 116, Wicklow Sub Aqua Club, the Civil Defence and Boyne River Rescue.
THE SEARCH for a man missing from Wicklow town continues into a second week, with the gardaí, Coast Guard, RNLI and other agencies all playing a role.
William (Bill) Neary was last seen on St Stephen’s night at 8.30 p.m. leaving the Mariner pub through the back door.
He was wearing navy jeans, a navy V-neck jumper, a black gilded jacket and tanned round-toe shoes at the time of his disappearance.
Aged 52, Mr Neary is six foot tall in height and is described as having grey hair.
A search involving Wicklow RNLI, the Coast Guard and Wicklow gardaí was started on Tuesday, December 27, after concerned family members reported Mr Neary missing.
It is also understood that a wallet belonging to Mr Neary was found at the New Pier in Wicklow town.
Initially the search focused on the area from Silver Strand to Six Mile Point but was spread out to cover a wider area on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
The Coast Guard 116 Helicopter carried out a search by air, while both the inshore and offshore RNLI Lifeboats took part in searches of Wicklow Bay and the coastline. The Garda Diving Unit was also involved.
The Civil Defence joined in with the operation on Thursday and used a number of drones to try and locate Mr Neary.
The multi-agency search also involved Wicklow Sub Aqua Club and the Boyne River Rescue.
Superintendent Paul Hogan has thanked everyone involved in the attempts to find Mr Neary.
He said: ‘I would like to offer my thanks to all the agencies involved, especially the voluntary organisations whose members were more than willing to give up their time and offer their assistance over the holiday period.’
The search will continue this week.
Gardaí have checked CCTV of Mr Neary’s last known movements and have also interviewed some of the last people to see him before he went missing. Anyone with information that could help the gardaí is urged to contact Wicklow Garda Station at (0404) 67107.