Police probing murder of Pat McCormick release images of blue van

Detectives investigating the murder of 55-year-old Pat McCormick have released images of a blue Ford Transit van they wish to trace.
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Jul 2019, 14:37 BST
Police investigating the murder of Pat McCormick have released images of a blue Transit van they want to tracePolice investigating the murder of Pat McCormick have released images of a blue Transit van they want to trace
Police investigating the murder of Pat McCormick have released images of a blue Transit van they want to trace

The father-of-four was last seen alive in Comber, Co Down on the evening of Thursday, May 30.

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

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Detective Chief Inspector Pete Montgomery, who is leading the investigation, said: “I believe Pat was murdered in or around the vicinity of flats in Castle Street, Comber sometime after 10.45pm on Thursday, May 30. I have CCTV footage showing him walking across 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 (William) McCormickPat (William) McCormick
Pat (William) McCormick

“I would still like to trace the movements of a blue Ford Transit van registration number JLZ1672 and I would appeal to motorists and pedestrians to think back to the following specific dates and times:

• On May 30 at approximately 11.30pm heading country bound on the Killinchy Road. Did you see this distinctive van with the silver front wings? Where did it go?

• On May 31 at around 8.15am in the rear car park of Supervalu. Did you see the van parked up here? Did you see the driver? Did you see anyone at the van or any activity at the van? Later on at around 10.15am did you see it on the Killinchy Road heading in the direction of Lisbane? Did you see where it went? I need to ascertain where this van went.

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• And later that day at around 2pm did you see it travelling on the Old Ballygowan Road in Comber? Again, I need to know where this van went.”

The senior investigating officer added: “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.

“I’ve carried out a number of land and water searches over recent weeks 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.

“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 the £10,000 reward from Crimestoppers will continue to provide 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. I will never know who you are.

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“Pat’s family are completely heartbroken and devastated and they need to get some closure. Anyone with information about the investigation or the whereabouts of Pat should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”