Detectives believe father of four Pat McCormick was murdered after he disappeared last month

DETECTIVES from the PSNI’s Major Investigation Team investigating the murder of 55 year old Pat McCormick have made a further appeal today following a £10,000 reward from Crimestoppers for information which leads to recovery of his body.

Detective Chief Inspector Pete Montgomery, who is leading the investigation continues to appeal for information and said: “It is now nearly 4 weeks since the father of four went missing and today Crimestoppers has offered a £10,000 reward for information which leads to recovery of his body.

“I believe Pat was murdered in or around the vicinity of flats in Castle Street, Comber sometime after 10.45pm on Thursday 30th May.

“I have CCTV footage showing him walking down Castle Street, where he goes under an archway that leads to some flats. This is the last sighting of him on CCTV to date.

“Pat’s family deserve to have his body back and give him a proper funeral – they deserve to be able to say goodbye and lay him to rest.

“I am hoping this reward provides an incentive for anyone who knows where he is to bring that information forward to police or to Crimestoppers where you are guaranteed absolute anonymity.

“They are completely devastated – in fact Pat’s elderly mum has told me she can’t face eating since her son disappeared – and they wake up each morning wondering if this will be the day we find his body.

“Pat’s parents have asked me to issue a statement on behalf of them and their family today:

“We would like to give a massive thank you to the PSNI and all the volunteers for all their hard work in trying to find Pat and get justice for him.

“A special thanks must also go to the people of Comber and surrounding areas for their help and support.

A mobile phone cover identical to the one on Pat McCormick’s phone

“We as a family are heartbroken and devastated at the loss of our Pat.

“We ask for further help and information to bring him home for a proper burial that Pat and us deserve.

“Please pass on any information that you know to the police or to Crimestoppers.”

Detective Chief Inspector Pete Montgomery added: “They deserve some peace – please do the right thing.

“Today I would also like to make an appeal for people to look out for Pat’s distinctive mobile phone flip cover – black with red stripes. I’ve released an image of an identical cover. His iPhone SE still remains unaccounted for too. It could be broken, smashed or in pieces.

“And I would like to trace the movements of a blue Ford Transit van which was travelling on the Old Ballygowan Road in Comber at around 2pm on Friday 31st May.

“I’ve carried out a number of land and water searches and detectives continue to examine hundreds of hours of CCTV footage.

A Ben Sherman watch similar to the one owned by Pat McCormick

“This has all been extremely helpful as well as the significant amount of information I’ve received during my investigation.

“I would like to echo Pat’s family’s thanks to the community for their help – the information you are providing really is making a difference.”

Anyone with information about the investigation or the whereabouts of Pat should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

CCTV footage released by PSNI shows Mr McCormick crossing Castle Street and through an archway