Latest news with #JónJónsson
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
Jón Jónsson answers are in Iceland, not Ireland, his brother says
The brother of missing Icelandic man Jón Jónsson agrees with Garda detectives that the answers to his brother's disappearance six years ago lie in Iceland . The poker player had been in Ireland less than 24 hours when he disappeared after leaving the Bonnington Hotel in February 2019 during the Dublin Poker Festival. 'You would think the answers are in Iceland,' said Jón's brother, Davíð Karl Wiium. 'Probably something prior to his disappearance has something to do with his disappearance.' Five gardaí have come to Reykjavik for the first time this week to work on the case, a development that is welcomed by Wiium and his family. Gardaí are working closely with members of the Icelandic police. 'We are very happy that they're here. It's a huge milestone in the case. It's been six years,' Wiium said. READ MORE He hopes that in Iceland, gardaí will get answers that will point them in the right direction. 'I hope, by coming here, the Irish police can get a better understanding of what he was doing before he came to Ireland. Look into his closest surroundings, talk with people of interest, the family, friends,' Wiium said. 'You get to know the person. You get to know what he was doing, and where he was before, and what he was involved in.' [ 'I'm almost certain something happened': Family fear missing Jón Jónsson was killed by hitman in case of mistaken identity Opens in new window ] Wiium met gardaí in Reykjavik this week as they began to take statements in Iceland. He has felt momentum pick up in the case again with recent media appearances such as The Late Late Show, which the family appeared on in March. A podcast series on Jónsson's disappearance also came out in January. 'We really felt the snowball rolling,' Wiium said, adding that the podcast has given the family extra strength. 'It has probably been the most positive impact from the beginning. It was like an extra push that we needed after a long, long time.' Where is Jón?/Hvar er Jón? is a co-production between RTÉ and Icelandic broadcaster RÚV. It delves into Jón's background over seven episodes, through interviews with his family and friends. Jón's family welcomed the podcast's focus on Jón's case and hoped it would bring them answers. Wiium said it was important also that the podcast 'portrayed Jón as who he is. He was a really good man, a great person and father that coincidentally started playing poker a couple of years before he disappeared.' Wiium said his brother had been looking forward to the tournament and remembers him speaking about it for weeks beforehand. 'I know he really wanted to be a poker player. He was not a sports guy. He was into board games, poker, video games, that kind of stuff. And he wanted to be really good at poker.' He speaks of a man who was always there for everyone. 'A 'family comes first' kind of man. So it's very much out of character.' The toll it has taken on Jón's family has been immense. 'It's hard for everyone. It's a big family, and emotionally it's hard. When you have someone disappearing very close to you, it starts to tear you up inside. It always creeps back. It's always there.' 'We just really want to find him, and hopefully figure out what happened.'
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Irish Times
Irish detective believes answers to Jón Jónsson's Dublin disappearance lie in Iceland
Gardaí believe the answers to the disappearance of Icelandic poker player Jón Jónsson , who went missing in Dublin six years ago, lie in his home country rather than in Ireland. Irish detectives searching for clues to Mr Jónsson's disappearance arrived in Reykjavík on Monday to begin work on the case in Iceland . 'We do think that whatever happened to Jón happened in Ireland, but we also think that the answers to what did happen to Jón lie among the Icelandic community,' Det Supt Alan Brady told The Irish Times. 'We've come here to try and find some of those answers.' READ MORE This is the first time that Irish police have travelled to Iceland to investigate the case. Five members of the An Garda Síochána arrived in the Icelandic capital on Monday where they will remain for the rest of the week. They began taking statements on Monday morning. Det Supt Alan Brady and Det Chief Insp Eiríkur Valberg, of the Reykjavík Metropolitan Police, meet as the two police forces start interviewing in the investigation into the disappearance of Icelandic poker player Jón Jónsson, who went missing in Dublin in 2019. Photograph: Karen McHugh Mr Jónsson went missing on February 9th, 2019, while attending the Dublin Poker Festival at the Bonnington Hotel in Whitehall on the northside of the city. There have been no sightings of the Icelandic man since. The main objective for gardaí this week is to reach out to the Icelandic community. They are appealing to anybody who may have information in relation to what happened to Mr Jónsson to come forward. They also want to find answers for Mr Jónsson's family. 'They have gone through immeasurable heartbreak for the last 6½ years. No family should have to go through that,' said Det Supt Brady. [ 'I'm almost certain something happened': Family fear missing Jón Jónsson was killed by hitman in case of mistaken identity Opens in new window ] Gardaí have identified 45 people they wish to speak to, with the investigation focusing on the whole of Iceland. 'We're here to try and appeal to the public in Iceland. They may have information that they may think is completely irrelevant,' said the detective. 'We're asking them to come forward and let us decide if that's irrelevant or not – if they have even the slightest piece of information, to come to us and let us know, and we'll explore that as well.' A group of 10 or 12 Icelanders attended the poker tournament in Dublin in 2019. Not all have been spoken to by gardaí, said Det Insp Jim McDermott. Part of the trip is to identify all those who attended the tournament. One difference from Ireland is that poker is a clandestine pursuit in Iceland. 'Gambling is illegal in Iceland, so the illicit poker scene is an underground one,' said Det Chief Insp Eiríkur Valberg of the Reykjavík Metropolitan Police. Det Chief Insp Valberg and Det Supt Brady both stressed the value of the co-operation between the forces – the result of a recent Europol meeting at The Hague. [ Gardaí enlist Europol to assist in case of missing Icelandic man Jón Jónsson Opens in new window ] 'We spoke online, but you can't beat speaking in person, and getting a feel for the person and seeing how you can co-operate,' said Det Supt Brady. The investigating team has also changed from 2019, with the hope that fresh eyes and a fresh approach this time around may produce new findings. Det Supt Brady and his team will meet Mr Jónsson's family today. 'Since we met them in Dublin when they appeared on The Late Late Show, I think we've developed quite a good relationship with them,' he said. Where is Jón?/Hvar er Jón?, a recent podcast collaboration from RTÉ and Iceland's counterpart, RÚV, explored various theories of hitmen and mistaken identity. A connection with organised crime has also not been dismissed. 'We're looking at everything. It's certainly one of the avenues that we're exploring but I'd just be speculating to say that at the moment,' said Det Supt Brady. 'We're not ruling out anything, and we can't.' Referring to the podcast, gardaí say it has helped bring the case back into the public domain. The Late Late Show appearance also yielded 'strands of information'. 'That's what we're looking for. All we need is one little bit that might get us in the right direction,' said Det Supt Brady.
RTÉ News
19-06-2025
- RTÉ News
Gardaí to conduct interviews in Iceland over Jónsson case
Gardaí are due to go to Iceland next week to interview a number of people as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Icelandic man Jón Jónsson, police in Iceland have confirmed. The 41-year-old disappeared in Dublin while attending the Dublin Poker Festival with his partner in 2019. He was last seen exiting the Bonnington Hotel and walking down the Swords Road past the entrance to Highfield Hospital, heading towards the Collins Avenue junction, on 9 February 2019. In a statement, police in Iceland said gardaí would speak to around 35 people in Iceland in relation to the case. They said police in Iceland would assist gardaí in their work. 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 in April across a number of areas in Dublin with the assistance of human remains detection dogs.
Irish Times
19-06-2025
- Irish Times
Gardaí to interview dozens in Iceland over potential murder of Jón Jónsson in Dublin
Garda detectives are to travel to Iceland next week to interview dozens of people about the disappearance and potential murder of Jón Jónsson , who disappeared in Dublin five years ago. Mr Jónsson went missing after visiting from Iceland with his partner to play in a poker tournament. His family believes he may have been murdered by a paid hitman in a case of mistaken identity. One line of investigation is the hitman intended to target a different Icelandic man visiting Ireland at the time. Gardaí have recently stepped up their investigation into Mr Jónsson's disappearance. Several fresh searches have been conducted in Dublin in recent months and there has been extensive co-operation with Icelandic police. READ MORE This weekend, a Garda team will travel to the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik where they have arranged to interview at least 35 people connected to Mr Jónsson or who may have knowledge of the events surrounding his disappearance. The visit is being facilitated and organised by Icelandic police. It is separate to ongoing co-operation between the two police forces regarding the murder of two French citizens in Reykjavik last week who had been living in Ireland. A missing person poster in Dublin of Jon Jónsson who vanished in Dublin in 2019 after coming to play poker. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons/ The Irish Times Gardaí involved in the Jónsson case believe there are people who may have knowledge of the man's disappearance who are not comfortable speaking to Icelandic police. They hope they will be more willing to speak to Irish officers. The visit is expected to coincide with a renewed public appeal for information in Iceland including a press conference. On Thursday, Icelandic police said the courts have approved the Garda visit and Icelandic officers will be available to assist their Irish counterparts. The interviews will be carried out by gardaí but under close supervision by Icelandic authorities. Gardaí will not have any powers to arrest or charge people. In April, investigating gardaí carried out four new searches in Dublin with the help of cadaver dogs. [ 'I'm almost certain something happened': Family fear missing Jón Jónsson was killed by hitman in case of mistaken identity Opens in new window ] The searches were carried out at several locations after people provided information to gardaí following the airing of an RTÉ documentary podcast series on Mr Jónsson's disappearance. Gardaí also travelled to the headquarters of Europol in The Hague in the Netherlands where they met Icelandic police and formulated a strategy to step up the investigation. During the meeting, gardaí provided their counterparts with a list of people in Iceland they would like to speak to. Mr Jónsson, a father of four and taxi driver, vanished on February 9th, 2019, after leaving the Bonnington Hotel on the Swords Road in north Dublin. He left the hotel on foot at about 11am and was recorded by a security camera 200m away passing the entrance to a nursing home next to the hotel. Beyond those images gardaí had no information about where he went and no trace of him has ever been uncovered. He had never been to Ireland before, had no friends or family here and had never gone missing before.
Irish Times
16-05-2025
- Irish Times
Psychic ‘visions' lets to fresh searches for missing Icelandic man Jón Jónsson
Tip-offs from two psychic mediums led gardaí to conduct fresh searches for the remains of Icelandic man Jón Jónsson last month. Mr Jónsson, a father of four and taxi driver, disappeared without a trace in 2019, after leaving a Dublin hotel where he was taking part in a poker tournament. The Garda has not yet upgraded his case to a homicide investigation but it has stepped up co-operation with the Icelandic police. Mr Jónsson's case was the subject of a podcast series produced by RTÉ and Icelandic public broadcaster RÚV. READ MORE Following the airing of the podcast earlier this year, gardaí received several tip-offs from the public, including from two separate psychics. One clairvoyant told gardaí Mr Jónsson was buried near a tree in Santry Demesne, an area of parkland that had already been searched by investigators. This led gardaí to conduct of a fresh search of a small area of the park last month using cadaver dogs. Around the same time, another medium claimed to have had a vision of Mr Jónsson suffering a medical issue in a farm area near Collins Avenue, leading to his death. Another search using dogs was carried out in the area. Two other areas were also searched for unrelated reasons. In all cases, nothing was found. It is not unusual for psychics to offer their services to gardaí in high-profile missing persons cases. It is understood a number of psychics have come forward offering assistance in the disappearance of Kerry farmer Michael Gaine who disappeared on March 21st, last. In 1996, gardaí investigating the disappearance of Josephine 'Jo Jo' Dullard searched a area of bog in Co Offaly after a clairvoyant claimed her body was concealed there. In 2012, gardaí investigating the murder of Bobby Ryan, a Tipperary DJ known as Mr Moonlight, sent divers to search an area in Ardmore in Co Waterford following a tip-off from a water diviner. Mr Ryan's body was later found in a water tank yards from where he was last seen in Tipperary. Garda sources said it is important to examine all leads in a missing person investigation. 'People may come to you with information they say they got in a vision. But who's to say they didn't come across it in some other way which they may not want to disclose? You have to chase everything down.' However, they added that they are not aware of any investigations where tip-offs from psychics have led to a breakthrough.
