THE FAMILY of a Tyrone man who has been missing in Florida since the end of May has flown over to the United States to assist in the ongoing search for him.
John McNamee, a native of Pomeroy in Co Tyrone who has lived in Jacksonville, Florida for 13 years, has been missing since May 25. He is described as being a white male with Irish accent, 5ft 5, 145lbs, with green eyes and brown hair.
The search for McNamee, a father of two young daughters, is focusing on a truck registered in his name that has been parked at a Quality Inn hotel since May 26. Police say McNamee was not registered as staying at the hotel, nor any of the nearby hotels. The truck, which had not been reported stolen, showed no evidence of foul play.
A social media post described the clothes he was last seen wearing as including a dark grey cap, a dark-coloured graphic t-shirt, blue denim jeans and white trainers/sneakers.
First Coast News reports that Jennifer told the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office that she had not heard from John in several days and she knew he had left his truck behind. The two are going through a divorce and Jennifer was trying to serve John with an injunction; she thought the truck was hidden behind the hotel because McNamee was hiding, not wanting to receive the injunction.
"None of it makes sense,” Jennifer told First Coast News. “How does someone just disappear without a trace, you know?"
She added: “I just don’t know if he was just going through a mental breakdown, or what was happening but he lived for those two girls and he’s never been away from them this long. You know they miss their daddy."
A GoFundMe was launched in the past few days to assist John's family travelling to the US from Ireland.
As of Thursday 16 June, it has surpassed its goal of £12,000 and currently stands at £14,305.
"This is totally out of character for John, he is always in contact with family at least 3 or 4 times a week. John has 2 young children who he adores and they are missing him terribly.
"We would be grateful for anyone in the Jacksonville area to come out and help us search for John, we just need him found."
The GoFundMe page will be closing on Wednesday 22 June, with donations continuing for the rest of the week.
