Lee Johnston search, Maghera: Community Rescue Service describe operation that resulted in recovery of a body after days of searching

By Philip Bradfield
Published 19th Oct 2023, 19:34 BST
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now
​​A post-mortem examination is to take place after a body was found in Maghera, Co Londonderry.

It comes as police appealed for information on a missing man, Lee Johnston. Mr Johnston, 21, from the Coleraine area, was reported missing to police on Friday. He was described as a "high-risk" missing person.

Police noted Mr Johnston's links to the Coleraine, Ballymena, Limavady and Cookstown areas and said their latest confirmed sighting of the high-risk missing person was at 5.42pm in the area of Dunmore Crescent, Cookstown, on Saturday.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A woman aged 31 and a man aged 33 had been arrested in relation to his disappearance but were later released on bail.

PSNI officers pictured Mullagh Lane, Maghera. Police investigating the disappearance of missing person Lee Johnston have located a body in the Maghera area of County Londonderry. Search and rescue teams were searching an area near Maghera on Wednesday night. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 19th October 2023.PSNI officers pictured Mullagh Lane, Maghera. Police investigating the disappearance of missing person Lee Johnston have located a body in the Maghera area of County Londonderry. Search and rescue teams were searching an area near Maghera on Wednesday night. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 19th October 2023.
PSNI officers pictured Mullagh Lane, Maghera. Police investigating the disappearance of missing person Lee Johnston have located a body in the Maghera area of County Londonderry. Search and rescue teams were searching an area near Maghera on Wednesday night. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 19th October 2023.

Formal identification and the post-mortem examination are due to take place in coming days following the discovery of the body.

The PSNI have said no further information will be available until these procedures have been completed.

Community Rescue Service Regional Commander, Sean McCarry, said his organisation ran a major search operation over a wide area culminating in a search in the Maghera area on Wednesday afternoon and night.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"We had almost 100 licenced search technicians, and a lot of equipment,” he told the News Letter. “This resulted in us finding a body about 9:30pm and then we went into the process of working with police to take care of that.

"We were seaching on behalf of the police, looking for a high risk missing person and the result was we found a person's body.”

His organisation was brought in to begin the search on Sunday and then brought in again on Wednesday. "We were searching the land and the water but the body was found on the land,” he added.

He said the missing person was last seen in a number of locations not more than half a mile from where the body was eventually found.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Local DUP councillor Kyle Black said: “This is a tragic set of circumstances and my thoughts and prayers at this difficult time are very much with the friends and family of the person whose body has been found. Police continue to investigate the circumstances of this tragedy and if anybody within the community has any information which may help them I would encourage them to contact the PSNI.”