A candlelit vigil was held in Belfast on New Year’s Eve for a missing man as his family continued to search for his body in Spain.
John George (37), also known as John Hardy, had flown to Alicante for a holiday with friends on December 4.
Ten days later, his family received their last phone call and said he sounded distressed.
His family now believe he has been murdered and are searching the area for any sign of his last movements.
Hundreds of people gathered at St Luke’s Church in Twinbrook for the vigil.
Tee shirts with the words ‘Murdered’, ‘Bring John Home’ and ‘Unity is Strength’ were distributed.
Cushlá Walls, a cousin of Mr George, said the size of the gathering revealed how much he was loved.
The father-of-two was “adored” by his family, who do not deserve the torment they are going through, she added.
“Hopefully justice will prevail,” Ms Walls told the crowd.
She added later: “This is the heartbreak of our family starting the new year, our hearts are ripped to bits over this - all we want is to bring John home to his loved ones.
“How anybody can sit withholding information and watch the heartbreak unfold in front of them just blows my mind.”
He was due to travel from Alicante to Benidorm by car on December 14, and was reported missing after he didn’t board his return flight to Belfast from Alicante Airport on December 18.
The family believes he was murdered and lured to his death in Spain.
On Tuesday evening, the vigil was held outside St Luke’s Church in Twinbrook, with supporters buying T-shirts to help raise money for the rescue effort.
Spanish police have said they are still treating the case as a disappearance and have not commenced a murder investigation.
At the gathering, members of the family were reluctant to make any criticism of the Spanish authorities.
A PSNI spokesperson said on Tuesday they were liaising closely with the family and other law enforcement agencies.
“Dedicated Family Liaison Officers have been appointed to provide support to the family at this time,” they said.
“While the investigation must be progressed by Spanish police, the Police Service of Northern Ireland have made an offer of assistance to police in Spain and will assist with any local enquiries as requested by them.”
This week, John’s brother Darren was among around 50 people who travelled to the Cabo Raig beach to continue the search.
“This is all linked to back home. We were told as soon as we got out here that John had been killed, that he had been shot,” he told the Irish News.
“John was lured here on false information to meet friends on a holiday. John was lured over here to be shot dead.”
He added: “They know if they shot him dead back in Belfast it would be more difficult for them to get away with it.
“But they don’t realise the support that John has back home. I don’t think they realised the amount of people that care about him.”
