Podcast tips lead to further searches in Jón Jónsson case
Tips submitted to gardaí as a result of the ' Where is Jón? ' podcast series from RTÉ and RÚV, the public service broadcaster in Iceland, resulted in new searches last month across a number of areas in Dublin with the assistance of human remains detection dogs.
Mr Jónsson, 41, disappeared in Dublin while attending the Dublin Poker Festival with his then partner, Kristiana Guðjónsdóttir.
He was last seen exiting the Bonnington Hotel and walking down the Swords Road past the entrance to Highfield Hospital, heading towards Collins Avenue junction on 9 February 2019.
Since Mr Jónsson's disappearance, gardaí have followed more than 270 lines of inquiry.
Last year, a search was conducted of Santry Demense Park based on two anonymous letters, one sent to the gardaí and the other to a priest's house in north Dublin. Further searches took place in north Dublin in February 2024.
While the searches proved unsuccessful, Mr Jónsson's brother David Karl Wiium said it was important to "leave no stone unturned".
"It's really important to basically leave no stone unturned and always look into every possibility at any given time. So that's very optimistic and it fills us with hope."
The family have welcomed a recent meeting in the Hague between the gardaí, Europol and the Icelandic investigation team.
Mr Wiium said the family had been seeking more cooperation between the gardaí and Icelandic authorities, adding that the meeting in the Hague was a "huge" development.
"Basically, we have been fighting for the Icelandic police and the gardaí to work closer together throughout the years. So, for us, it's a huge victory that they have already met and that they have already established more personal connections and cooperation. And what I've been told by the gardaí, the Icelandic police were very cooperative."
It is understood that gardaí have a list of people they wish to interview about the case.
The Icelandic authorities have told gardaí they are happy to assist with the investigation and will provide them with interpreters, police officers and transport.
The family expect a team from An Garda Síochána to shortly travel to Iceland for the first time.
The Jónsson family met with An Garda Síochána in March to discuss the investigation.
Mr Wiium added: "This visit was different, and I could feel it. We were all there, the siblings, our mother, we could just feel the energy was right, and we could really, we really believe, and we can really feel that the gardaí are really trying our best, and they're really on our side in this so yes, 100% and how they have kept up the communication with myself and the family since we left, it's really it's good indicator of what is to come."
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