Damien Heagney: Man's disappearance becomes a murder inquiry

Damien Heagney is missing believed to be murdered

A man has been released on bail after being questioned about the murder of missing Tyrone man Damien Heagney.

The 47-year-old's disappearance was first reported as a missing person case.

The PSNI have said they now believe he was killed and have begun a murder inquiry.

Mr Heagney, from Cookstown, was reported missing in July but police have since established that he was last seen on New Year's Eve.

They arrested a 50-year-old man after a search in Cookstown on Saturday, He was released on bail on Sunday.

"On 19 July, police received a report that Damien was missing. Whilst I'm keeping an open mind, I now believe that Damien has sadly been murdered," said Det Ch Insp Rachel Wilson.

She added that the last reported sighting of Mr Heagney was in the early hours of 31 December 2021 in Dromore, County Tyrone.

The police appealed to anyone with information about Mr Heagney's disappearance to contact detectives in the PSNI's Major Investigation Team.

Mr Heagney was described as being about 5'10" tall and of stocky build.