WATCH: £10,000 reward offered to find body of missing murder victim

By Rebecca Black, PA and Q Radio News

A £10,000 reward has been offered for information which leads to the recovery of a missing murder victim.

Pat McCormick, 55, was last seen almost four weeks ago in the Co Down town of Comber.

Police believe he was murdered.

Mr McCormick's last known movements walking along Castle Street towards some flats around 10.45pm on Thursday May 30 were captured on CCTV footage.

Extensive searches around Comber and parts of Strangford Lough for his remains have so far been unsuccessful.

The charity Crimestoppers has offered a reward of £10,000 for information which leads to recovery of his body.

Detective Chief Inspector Pete Montgomery said Mr McCormick's family have been left devastated by his disappearance.

🎥 Crimestoppers has offered a £10,000 reward for information that leads to the recovery of Pat McCormick’s body. DCI Pete Montgomery says Pat’s family are “absolutely devastated”: pic.twitter.com/YCGwkdsieK

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) June 27, 2019

"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 and 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," he said.

"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."

In a statement issued via police, Mr McCormick's family thanked police and volunteers who have helped search for him and appealed for any information that might help find him.

"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," they said.

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

Mr Montgomery also reissued his appeal for information, specifically in relation to the victim's phone which remains missing.

(A photo of Pat's phone cover - his phone still hasn't been found)

"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," he said.

"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. 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 Mr McCormick should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.