CONCERNS…Gerard Tierney, from near Roslea has been missing since last Thursday
A DISTRAUGHT family in the Roslea area are holding out hope that youngest son, Gerard Tierney (40), who has been missing from home since Thursday, will show up safe and well.
People on both sides of the Fermanagh/Monaghan border have joined the family in the search. Gerard, who lived at Kilcorran, Smithboro, a short distance from Roslea, was a single man, a farmer and lorry driver, who lived with his widowed father, Frank.
A Garda spokesman said Gerard went missing from 8pm on Thursday of last week.
“He is described as being approximately 5′ 6” inches tall of medium build with short brown hair,” he added.
When last seen, he was wearing dark coloured trousers and a dark coloured polo shirt.
Gerard was the youngest in a family of four, two of whom, Denis (Roslea) and Martina (Mrs McElvaney, Lisnaskea), live in Fermanagh.
His other sister, Rose, lives in Smithboro.
Martina appealed to people in the surrounding area to check outbuildings and lands.
Through the Herald, she thanked ‘neighbours and people from far and wide’ for the way they had rallied to the family’s support by joining in the searches.
“The wider community have just been absolutely fantastic”, she added.
She said nothing traumatic had happened on the day her brother went missing.
“He did say to his father the evening before that he did not feel well, and Dad told him he needed to get to the hospital or to his GP, but that they would leave it a couple of days.
“On the Thursday, he was doing farm work as usual, and was organising the buying of straw for the cattle. He had his tea with his father at 7pm, an hour before he was reported missing, and at around bedtime, Dad assumed Gerard had gone to bed.
“But, when he went up to check, he wasn’t there, and that was basically it.”
The Garda were contacted and, that night, the family began searching for Gerard.
When the news broke the next morning, others joined them.
Van
Martina confirmed that her brother did not leave in his jeep, but that he had his mobile and other possessions with him.
However, something which is bothering the Tierney family was the sighting of a mysterious, light coloured van, possibly a Renault Traffic, that was captured on camera at the home on the day Gerard went missing.
“It pulled up on the street, somebody got out of it and went to the door and then went back into the van. We don’t know if Gerard was inside at the time.
The family believe that this vehicle was seen at Kilcorn Lane beside Kilcorn Lough at 9pm on Thursday evening, and they have appealed to its driver or anyone who knows of a person with similar vehicle to contact the Gardai.
Martina added: “We would appeal to the driver to come forward if they saw Gerard walking down the road. We don’t know if they were looking for Gerard, and we don’t know who the person was.”
She described her brother as, ‘a quiet, unassuming character’ whose interests outside farming are motor sport, fishing and socialising.’
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