Pat McCormick murder: £10k reward for information

A reward of £10,000 has been offered for information leading to the recovery of Co Down murder victim William (Pat) McCormick’s body.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Jun 2019, 18:29 BST
Photo of Pat McCormick supplied by PSNIPhoto of Pat McCormick supplied by PSNI
Photo of Pat McCormick supplied by PSNI

Detectives from the PSNI’s Major Investigation Team have made a fresh appeal for information – along with an announcement that Crimestoppers has put up the cash incentive to encourage people to come forward.

The 55-year-old, who went missing almost four weeks ago, is believed to have been murdered in the area of flats in the Castle Street area of Comber around 10.45pm on Thursday, May 30.

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Detective Chief Inspector Pete Montgomery, said: “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.

An identical phone cover to the one still missing after the murder of Pat McCormick in Comber, Co DownAn identical phone cover to the one still missing after the murder of Pat McCormick in Comber, Co Down
An identical phone cover to the one still missing after the murder of Pat McCormick in Comber, Co Down

“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.”

DCI Montgomery said Mr McCormick’s family are “completely devastated”.

Issuing a statement on the family’s behalf, the senior detective said: “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.

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

“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.”

DCI 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.

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“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, May 31.

“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.”

Mr Montgomery added: “Anyone with information about the investigation or the whereabouts of Pat should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”