Nothing found in fresh search for missing Gerard Conway

Gerard Conway was 32 when he disappeared in 2007

Nothing has been found during a fresh search for a County Tyrone man who has been missing for 10 years, police have confirmed.

Gerard Conway was 32 when he was reported missing from his home in Cookstown in February 2007.

Police investigating his disappearance began searching an address at Battery Road, Ardboe, on Wednesday morning as a result of new information.

They said "nothing untoward" was found and the search ended in the afternoon.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland deployed specialist resources to the operation, including victim recovery dogs and a "ground-penetrating radar device".

Speaking earlier, the officer in charge of the investigation, Det Ch Insp Gareth Talbot, said Mr Conway's family were "being kept fully informed" about the operation.

"The search may not yield any results, but we feel it is important to act on this new information," he added.

Sightings

At the time of his disappearance, it was reported that Mr Conway had bipolar disorder.

The last recorded sighting of him was at a bank in Cookstown on 25 January 2007.

Bank records show he withdrew money from his account and police have since obtained CCTV footage of him at the premises.

People who knew him reported seeing him in late January and early February that year, but he was reported missing by his family on 13 February 2007.

At the time, his mother offered a reward of £100,000 in an attempt to find him.

The PSNI said that despite "extensive" inquiries over a number of years, there are "no clues as to his whereabouts".

Mr Talbot said: "In the immediate aftermath of Gerard's disappearance, there were unconfirmed sightings in the Magherafelt, Toome and Ballymena areas.

"Widespread search activity of the countryside around Cookstown, using dogs and aircraft, was unsuccessful."

The lead detective added that because of the family's connections with the Republic of Ireland, they worked with An Garda Síochána (Irish police) on a cross-border appeal, but it too was unsuccessful.

Mr Talbot said the Conway family had "made their own substantial efforts to locate Gerard and they deserve to know what has happened to him".

The PSNI has repeated an appeal for information about the case.

The missing man is described as 6ft (1.8m) and of medium build.

He had short, dark brown hair; blue eyes and a scar running through his right eyebrow and another above his right eye.