LATEST: Police sniffer dogs and divers will be drafted in as the search for missing Lifford man David Colhoun is stepped up this morning.
As the search for the missing 22 year old enters its sixth day, David’s heartbroken father Joseph has now accepted his son will not be coming home alive.
“I can’t believe that he wouldn’t contact us if he was out there. I have to imagine the worst. We are going through hell and we just want him back one way or another,” he said.
Both the Garda and PSNI operation to locate David will swing into operation after local people began to voice their concern yesterday that not enough was being done to help the family.
Mr Colhoun, from Beechwood Grove, says he could not understand why it took so long for the search for his son to gather momentum.
And Donegal Lord Mayor Cora Harvey has released a statement condemning the lack of action in the case.
She said “To date the response to this tragedy has been inadequate. All actions must be taken to locate David Calhoun.
“It has been left to the community in Strabane and Lifford to search for David. The hundreds of volunteers who have risked their lives searching in the flooding river have been heroic.
Mayor Harvey revealed she has been in direct contact with the Gardaí and PSNI over the matter.
“The Calhoun family are going through a living hell. They deserve to have David returned to them. I have contacted both the Gardaí and PSNI and have pressed them to increase their activity and locate David Calhoun as soon as possible.
“It should not be left to untrained volunteers to risk their lives like this. It is unacceptable,” she said.
Gardai say the search is out of their jurisdiction and have not deployed any of their divers although Garda manpower has been evident along the riverbank.
Supt. Vincent O’Brien has appealed to farmers and landowners to walk their lands to help in the search for David.
As well as trainer sniffer dogs and police divers, the RNLI chopper will again search the area today and the Foyle Search and Rescue Team will also search the Rivers Mourne, Finn and Foyle.
However with high waters again expected today, searchers face a grim task in trying to locate anything in what are expected to be very murky waters.
To see other stories on David Colhoun’s tragic disappearance click here…..
Ends
Tags: