Missing Icelandic man

JustAThought

VG31 wrote: »

That's a ridiculous statement. I'm in those areas often enough and while I certainly wouldn't go near some parts at night or walk around by myself if I didn't have to, that's still a gross exaggeration.

Finglas and Ballymun are hardly on the same level of some Detroit ghetto. .

As you say - there are sime parts you wouldnt go into day or night - same as most Irish people - and there are many who wouldnt set a foit in regardless. The question is did this guy & would he know where to go & where to stay well clear of. There are flats and estates that are no go ghettos all over Dublin -this Islandic guy wandering around with possible chitchat of what to many peoole is large sums of money cash to hand to gamble with might be an easy target for deveption or worse to the many crims that line or streets orreturn to their gjettos at night. An Islandic might well not pick up on the signals an Irishperson would or know where to steer clear of.

Annd9

JustAThought wrote: »

As you say - there are sime parts you wouldnt go into day or night - same as most Irish people - and there are many who wouldnt set a foit in regardless. The question is did this guy & would he know where to go & where to stay well clear of. There are flats and estates that are no go ghettos all over Dublin -this Islandic guy wandering around with possible chitchat of what to many peoole is large sums of money cash to hand to gamble with might be an easy target for deveption or worse to the many crims that line or streets orreturn to their gjettos at night. An Islandic might well not pick up on the signals an Irishperson would or know where to steer clear of.

I'm hoping the people posting this crap are Spud wollopers .
Can somebody name me a case where an innocent person just disappeared in broad daylight because they strolled into one of Dublin's "ghettos" ? Absolute nonsense of the highest order

begbysback

I’d also add as I’ve often played in poker tournaments, your typical poker player type is pretty street smart and doesn’t go around talking about how much money they have in their pocket.

Strazdas

Annd9 wrote: »

I'm hoping the people posting this crap are Spud wollopers .
Can somebody name me a case where an innocent person just disappeared in broad daylight because they strolled into one of Dublin's "ghettos" ? Absolute nonsense of the highest order

Even if a tourist was mugged and robbed of cash, they wouldn't go missing afterwards.

From what I understood of the investigation, the Gardai weren't working on the assumption that Jon had been the victim of a violent crime.

Gimme A Pound

Glacia wrote: »

Clever boy, if he came all the way from Iceland to play in a poker tournament he probably does have some money. :rolleyes:

Glacia wrote: »

Your bitchiness and nastiness never helps on this board

Your "Clever boy" sneer with the rolleyes (to a fairly innocuous comment) is pretty unnecessary too.

Calltocall

So long since this man went missing now, leaning towards him wanting to disappear, taking no phone or wallet doesn’t sound good. The last conversation he had is key, I’m nipping outside for a smoke, going for a short walk etc as we’re not privy to that it’s hard to say but leaving the walet and phone is odd.

Keyzer

Glacia wrote: »

Your bitchiness and nastiness never helps on this board so quite trying to claim the moral high ground. A lot of people go missing and commit suicide around Ireland.

What are you on about?

Edit: No need to respond, I remember you now from the farcical CBB punchgate thread. Really, no need to respond...

weldoninhio

Lion Killer wrote: »

Anything more on this?

There's a few questions I have that I have not seen answered:

How was his mood after the tournament? Did he have a falling out with the girlfriend? Did he know anyone else at the tournament and/or owe anyone there money? Have they searched the girlfriend's communications etc?

I have seen it written that his phone was acting up. I wonder if they have confirmed that or not.

It's a strange situation with very little info available. Suicide most likely in my view.

The tournament hadn’t started yet.

aloneforever99

Lion Killer wrote: »

It's a strange situation with very little info available. Suicide most likely in my view.

How would someone with so little knowledge of Dublin take their own lives somewhere so private the body hasn't been found weeks later?

Mysterypunter

weldoninhio wrote: »

The tournament hadn’t started yet.

He did in a few quid the night before, but that wouldn't have any bearing on his mood. If every punter that lost a few quid topped themselves, there would be a million suicides a week. There is too much of a focus on the poker as if it is a negative, the chap was just here for a short break.

aloneforever99

Mysterypunter wrote: »

He did in a few quid the night before, but that wouldn't have any bearing on his mood. If every punter that lost a few quid topped themselves, there would be a million suicides a week. There is too much of a focus on the poker as if it is a negative, the chap was just here for a short break.

I'd be much more inclined to think the situation with the gf was unusual than it was anything to do with poker.

Dublin's poker scene is dominated by middle aged taxi drivers. There are a few gangsters around because a cash game is an easy place to launder money, but none of them would bother killing anyone over a couple of grand I don't think.

Calltocall

aloneforever99 wrote: »

I'd be much more inclined to think the situation with the gf was unusual than it was anything to do with poker.

Dublin's poker scene is dominated by middle aged taxi drivers. There are a few gangsters around because a cash game is an easy place to launder money, but none of them would bother killing anyone over a couple of grand I don't think.

I agree in regards to the poker match, it’s been a distraction,the critical issue here is what was his state of mind when he walked out the door of the hotel, what were his last words/conversation with his partner, because these details aren’t disclosed we are left to fill in the blanks but the guards know.

For some reason I am drawn back to a missing persons case in 2010 in Dublin of a young lady who has sadly never been found. Initially the alerts went out and posters plastered everywhere, there was even talk of a killer on forums online and it was given creedence, then cctv emerged of the woman hailing a cab on the quays, talk ramped up of something sinister afoot, then eventually a cab driver who was away on holidays came forward and said he drove the girl to howth beside the pier, this was a dark night close to Christmas, eventually it was accepted that the woman had gone to howth to commit suicide. It was only possibly months or a year later at the inquest that it was revealed on the first day the girl went missing the guards searched her flat and found search history of ways to commit suicide on her computer and that she had a history of depression, there were questions as to why the guards didn’t reveal this during the search but for whatever reasons they didn’t. I think there could be more detail that’s being withheld by the Guards here, again I’m leaning towards this man wanting to disappear unfortunately.

whiskeyman

^ that case also came into my mind too.
Really hope it's not the case, but I'm not sure what else right now.

Muahahaha

On the 4,000, did a media outlet not report that he had lost this sum the night before? Pretty sure I saw that somewhere which suggests the poker money is not a part of his dissappearance.

odyssey06

Muahahaha wrote: »

On the 4,000, did a media outlet not report that he had lost this sum the night before? Pretty sure I saw that somewhere which suggests the poker money is not a part of his dissappearance.

It was reported in the Independent \ Herald that he's lost €4000 on the night before.

It could have been the prelude to an argument with the gf, if he'd promised he was here for the tournament only and wasn't gambling with savings - assuming the €4000 was from a cash game and not a tournament entry. So the sum in itself is secondary, or rather the straw that broke the camel's back.
I'm not sure how many rounds of forgiveness I'd have with the wife if I regularly losing that kind of money, I think that would run out before the bank manager's forgiveness would.

odyssey06

aloneforever99 wrote: »

How would someone with so little knowledge of Dublin take their own lives somewhere so private the body hasn't been found weeks later?

Very astute observation... if a taxi driver had taken him to Howth or wherever, we'd have heard about it by now surely.

t1h9mgqsxopj0r

I'm curious as to why his family members have spoken openly about the search but his fiancee/girlfriend hasn't come forward? There really hasn't been much else said about his disappearance and the footages shown hasn't given too much about where he went too. I'm really finding this all strange. No wallet. No phone. No money. Just gone.

Muahahaha

odyssey06 wrote: »

It was reported in the Independent \ Herald that he's lost €4000 on the night before.

It could have been the prelude to an argument with the gf, if he'd promised he was here for the tournament only and wasn't gambling with savings - assuming the €4000 was from a cash game and not a tournament entry. So the sum in itself is secondary, or rather the straw that broke the camel's back.
I'm not sure how many rounds of forgiveness I'd have with the wife if I regularly losing that kind of money, I think that would run out before the bank manager's forgiveness would.

That's what I'd thought. When the dissappearance was first reported that a guy here for poker went missing you're thinking oh-oh he was a target for a criminal. But since then its come out he lost this 4,000 the night before so that would suggest this wasn't an attack to mug him that went wrong. It was always hard to believe he could be mugged in broad daylight in a busy area anyway.

Has it been reported that Gardai have checked Dublin Bus CCTV? He must have left the area by bus or taxi, if he was on foot street CCTV would surely have picked him up more than what it did.

Patrick2010

Muahahaha wrote: »

That's what I'd thought. When the dissappearance was first reported that a guy here for poker went missing you're thinking oh-oh he was a target for a criminal. But since then its come out he lost this 4,000 the night before so that would suggest this wasn't an attack to mug him that went wrong. It was always hard to believe he could be mugged in broad daylight in a busy area anyway.

Has it been reported that Gardai have checked Dublin Bus CCTV? He must have left the area by bus or taxi, if he was on foot street CCTV would surely have picked him up more than what it did.

Who knew he lost 4K? Where did that come from?

odyssey06

Muahahaha wrote: »

Has it been reported that Gardai have checked Dublin Bus CCTV? He must have left the area by bus or taxi, if he was on foot street CCTV would surely have picked him up more than what it did.

Haven't heard about Dublin Bus specifically.

I heard he wasn't picked up by CCTV at the set of shops at Viscount pub, which would be 250 metres or so further along the road in the direction he was walking. So either he doubled back, or there's a vehicle involved.
I'm assuming he didn't go into Highfield Hospital grounds or something would have been found by now.

odyssey06

Patrick2010 wrote: »

Who knew he lost 4K? Where did that come from?

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/icelander-lost-4000-at-poker-before-going-missing-37855067.html

Muahahaha

I presume Highfield Hospital grounds are a cul de sac, i.e. no through road or pedestrian route out the other side?

It does all sound bizarre, its hard to see how he got out Whitehall on foot, it must have been a car/taxi/bus he switched to. Hope the Gardai are examining Dublin Bus CCTV but they may not be as there is not evidence of a crime

Patrick2010 wrote: »

Who knew he lost 4K? Where did that come from?

As said a few posts back it was reported by the Indo & Herald that he lost the 4k in a poker game the night before.

Calltocall

odyssey06 wrote: »

Haven't heard about Dublin Bus specifically.

I heard he wasn't picked up by CCTV at the set of shops at Viscount pub, which would be 250 metres or so further along the road in the direction he was walking. So either he doubled back, or there's a vehicle involved.
I'm assuming he didn't go into Highfield Hospital grounds or something would have been found by now.

I also read there was a cigarette box and butt found on grace park road that was the brand he smoked and that weren’t available in Ireland, let’s say that was his cigarette box, would ending up on grace park road suggest he changed direction From where he was heading in cctv?

odyssey06

Calltocall wrote: »

I also read there was a cigarette box and butt found on grace park road that was the brand he smoked and that weren’t available in Ireland, let’s say that was his cigarette box, would ending up on grace park road suggest he changed direction From where he was heading in cctv?

Could have changed direction, or could have gone all the way around the block (though then should have been picked up passing Viscount pub).
Or could an empty box from the previous night be blown by the wind across to Grace Park Road?

odyssey06

Muahahaha wrote: »

I presume Highfield Hospital grounds are a cul de sac, i.e. no through road or pedestrian route out the other side?

There might be a way if you aren't bothered by hedges, clambering over a wall etc, but it'd be strange that he'd know it was possible, unless his hotel room had a view of it. Plus I'd expect a place like that to have CCTV.

If I recall correctly there is a gated pedestrian entrance between Bonnington and Grace Park Road apartment development, needs an access code unless you tailgate and I never chanced it though it would have been a nice shortcut home for me when I used to go to the TGI Fridays place in the old Regency grounds.

Muahahaha

Yeah if he walked past Highfield Hospital but a butt & cigarette box was found on Grace Park Road then it would suggest he was going for a walk around the block and back down towards the Bonnington Hotel.

Though the cigarette & butt could also be from a walk he did the previous day.

Calltocall

odyssey06 wrote: »

Could have changed direction, or could have gone all the way around the block (though then should have been picked up passing Viscount pub).
Or could an empty box from the previous night be blown by the wind across to Grace Park Road?

Interesting, the walk at that hour sounds like a clear the head walk in the morning, go and stretch the legs and check out the locality etc without any particular location in mind just like a walk around the block, again it’s absolutely crucial what his last conversation with his partner was, honey I’m going to stretch the legs, going to get x from the local shop or did he not say anything at all and just walked out, bizarre, It’s possible she does not have english and that’s why she hasn’t spoken but more specific information on what exactly was the context of him going for his morning walk is required, I am very confident the guards know exactly the nature of the last conversation

aloneforever99

Muahahaha wrote: »

Hope the Gardai are examining Dublin Bus CCTV but they may not be as there is not evidence of a crime

Surely the Gardai have an obligation to investigate a missing person anyway.

odyssey06

aloneforever99 wrote: »

Surely the Gardai have an obligation to investigate a missing person anyway.

iirc the Trevor Deeley case, it was only the actions of his colleagues who worked in a bank and were able to request that CCTV footage be held or it would have been wiped by the time the Guards got to it.

odyssey06

Muahahaha wrote: »

Yeah if he walked past Highfield Hospital but a butt & cigarette box was found on Grace Park Road then it would suggest he was going for a walk around the block and back down towards the Bonnington Hotel.
Though the cigarette & butt could also be from a walk he did the previous day.

Yeah it's the kind of undirected walk I'd do leaving a hotel in an area I don't know well, stick to the same block \ straight lines.

strandroad

odyssey06 wrote: »

Very astute observation... if a taxi driver had taken him to Howth or wherever, we'd have heard about it by now surely.

Not if the taxi driver was not fully legit, for any reason really, sharing plates or immigration status etc. Some might not want to draw any attention to themselves.

Muahahaha

odyssey06 wrote: »

There might be a way if you aren't bothered by hedges, clambering over a wall etc, but it'd be strange that he'd know it was possible, unless his hotel room had a view of it. Plus I'd expect a place like that to have CCTV.

If I recall correctly there is a gated pedestrian entrance between Bonnington and Grace Park Road apartment development, needs an access code unless you tailgate and I never chanced it though it would have been a nice shortcut home for me when I used to go to the TGI Fridays place in the old Regency grounds.

Yeah I can see that pedestrian route vaguely on Google maps. Its still not the type of thing you've expect a tourist to be aware of or to even try to use. You never know though, poker players tend to be pretty streetwise and as you said he might have seen others using it from his hotel room.

Its just bizarre that he CCTV picked him up at the Highfield Hospital but not after that. Like this is the main road to the airport and Whitehall cross would certainly be covered by traffic CCTV cameras. There is only about 250 metres between Highfield Hospital and Whitehall cross, its astoinishing that he would just vanish into thin air in that particular spot which is also a busy traffic artery.

martingriff

Calltocall wrote: »

Interesting, the walk at that hour sounds like a clear the head walk in the morning, go and stretch the legs and check out the locality etc without any particular location in mind just like a walk around the block, again it’s absolutely crucial what his last conversation with his partner was, honey I’m going to stretch the legs, going to get x from the local shop or did he not say anything at all and just walked out, bizarre, It’s possible she does not have english and that’s why she hasn’t spoken but more specific information on what exactly was the context of him going for his morning walk is required, I am very confident the guards know exactly the nature of the last conversation

Unless the last conversation gave an exact route or place to meet up I would see no relevance in disclosing it. In something like this you want to give as concise summary as possible to focus people and not muddy the mind with unneeded "facts"

Calltocall

strandroad wrote: »

Not if the taxi driver was not fully legit, for any reason really, sharing plates or immigration status etc. Some might not want to draw any attention to themselves.

I had thought this too, a large proportion of drivers are foreign nationals, they may not tune into local news therefore not see the alert, vital the taxi federation send out a notification to all drivers of the mans description and last known location, I can only assume this has been done

odyssey06

Calltocall wrote: »

I had thought this too, a large proportion of drivers are foreign nationals, they may not tune into local news therefore not see the alert, vital the taxi federation send out a notification to all drivers of the mans description and last known location, I can only assume this has been done

True they can be in a bubble, but if they have information and for whatever reason don't want to come to the 'official' attention of the authorities hopefully they can find a way to relay it 'under the radar'.

Muahahaha

aloneforever99 wrote: »

Surely the Gardai have an obligation to investigate a missing person anyway.

You'd think that but missing persons cases don't get all that much of Garda resources. There will be a Garda investigation opened but without evidence of a crime it is not top of their list.

odyssey06 wrote: »

Yeah it's the kind of undirected walk I'd do leaving a hotel in an area I don't know well, stick to the same block \ straight lines.

Same here when I'm in a foreign country, I'd usually leave the hotel, walk 500m, turn right and walk 500m then right again twice more and back to the hotel. No maps needed, just a sense of direction and distance. In taihis instance he barely got 300m before vanishing in an area with a lot of CCTV, its hard to make sense of unless you allow for him getting on a bus or in a taxi.

spurious

Lots of coaches heading northwards going through that area too.
Hoping for a happy conclusion to all this.

Calltocall

martingriff wrote: »

Unless the last conversation gave an exact route or place to meet up I would see no relevance in disclosing it. In something like this you want to give as concise summary as possible to focus people and not muddy the mind with unneeded "facts"

Well I think it’s important because it’s either A. He walked out without saying a word which suggests he intended to go somewhere he didn’t want anyone else to know or B. He was in great form and just said I’m going for a ramble/shops I’ll be back in a few minutes which suggests a different state of mind and points to an accident or something more sinister. The tiniest details can be very important, the fact that the guards haven’t said where he said he was supposedly going suggests he didn’t say anything to his partner and just left.

Muahahaha

odyssey06 wrote: »

True they can be in a bubble, but if they have information and for whatever reason don't want to come to the 'official' attention of the authorities hopefully they can find a way to relay it 'under the radar'.

Yeah I'd say people would be surprised by the amount of illegal taxi drivers on the roads. If they are under the radar the way to relay the information would be by ringing the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, the number is plastered on all Garda cars so taxi drivers should be aware of it.

Even then though I'd doubt a taxi driver without the correct taxi license and insurance would want to even risk ringing the Gardai, they would have a fear of being caught and put off the road.

Muahahaha

spurious wrote: »

Lots of coaches heading northwards going through that area too.
Hoping for a happy conclusion to all this.

Very true, between Aircoach, Dublin Bus 747 Airport Express and Matthews' Buses you would have a northbound bus passing through there every 3-5 minutes at that time of day. Lots of taxi drivers have dash cams too, both forward and backward facing. I really hope Gardai are reviewing all the CCTV options available to them because the spot he dissappeared in is just too busy to make any kind of sense imo.

odyssey06

Muahahaha wrote: »

Very true, between Aircoach, Dublin Bus 747 Airport Express and Matthews' Buses you would have a northbound bus passing through there every 3-5 minutes at that time of day. Lots of taxi drivers have dash cams too, both forward and backward facing. I really hope Gardai are reviewing all the CCTV options available to them because the spot he dissappeared in is just too busy to make any kind of sense imo.

Left phone, wallet and passport in hotel room... strange to me to jump on a coach unless he was carrying a chunk of cash over and above the €4000 lost the night before... last second decision maybe?
https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2019/0221/1031968-missing-man-iceland/

nc6000

The Matthew's buses don't pick up until the bus stop after the Whitehall junction so he would have had to pass the CCTV further up the road.

kravmaga

Calltocall wrote: »

So long since this man went missing now, leaning towards him wanting to disappear, taking no phone or wallet doesn’t sound good. The last conversation he had is key, I’m nipping outside for a smoke, going for a short walk etc as we’re not privy to that it’s hard to say but leaving the walet and phone is odd.

Not taking the mobile phone with him is a strange one, he is seen smoking on the cctv captured image of him leaving the hotel

Riesen_Meal

nc6000 wrote: »

The Matthew's buses don't pick up until the bus stop after the Whitehall junction so he would have had to pass the CCTV further up the road.

Usually their last buses leave the city centre around midnight so weren't running when he left the hotel.

I thought he left the hotel that morning?

I'm from the area all my life, only recently moved back here after nearly a decade away, you don't just vanish around here like, one of the most main roads in the country...

This whole thing is very strange I must say, I believe the guy is no stranger to Ireland either as I have a mate who actually knows him before he came over...

He was out searching at the weekend with his family

nc6000

Fieldog wrote:

I thought he left the hotel that morning?

Sorry, I edited my post as I had assumed that last seen that morning meant very early morning.

odyssey06

If he had been to ireland esp the north before that would put different spin on where he might have been going.

Somebody above suggested partner might not have much English. There’s not a person in Iceland who doesn’t have a good command of English. However she may not be the type who feels comfortable going on the media. Goodness knows if they had a disagreement that morning etc, but that the brothers don’t want the public to focus on that, but rather just trying to get some info on whereabouts he might be now.

Calltocall

Fieldog wrote: »

I thought he left the hotel that morning?

I'm from the area all my life, only recently moved back here after nearly a decade away, you don't just vanish around here like, one of the most main roads in the country...

This whole thing is very strange I must say, I believe the guy is no stranger to Ireland either as I have a mate who actually knows him before he came over...

He was out searching at the weekend with his family

Interesting, wasn’t aware he was familiar with Ireland

Aidric

Deleted User wrote: »

She's presumably upset. She could be nervous. She might have poor English.
Lots of reasons not to speak out.

It could be any number of reasons. A pretty scummy agenda to try link her to the cause of his disappearance. We've all left the house on the tail end of an argument with our partner. In the main we come back.

This case is very strange.

Riesen_Meal

Calltocall wrote: »

Interesting, wasn’t aware he was familiar with Ireland

Not sure how my mate actually knows him but I'll be seeing him tomorrow night and I'll see if he will tell me a bit more about him...