Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae has said that "somebody somewhere knows something" in relation to the disappearance of Michael Gaine as a new Virgin Media TV documentary delved into the case of the missing Kerry farmer.
It's exactly four weeks today since the 56-year-old, who was was last seen in a Centra shop in Kenmare on Thursday, March 20, vanished without a trace.
His vehicle was later found, with personal items such as his mobile phone inside, at his farm close to Molls Gap, just outside Kenmare town.
Since he was reported missing on Friday, March 21, a massive search operation has been underway involving 250 volunteers, multiple Garda units, helicopters, drones, Civil Defence and the Defence Forces, but Gardaí have no leads on missing Michael.
Speaking to the media outside Kenmare Garda Station on Friday, Superintendent Dave Callaghan acknowledged that this was a "unique" missing persons case and "probably one of the largest searches we've conducted in the Kerry division in recent times."
Asked by the media if gardai suspect that Michael may still be alive, the Superintendent said: "We haven't recovered Michael. This is still a missing persons investigation. So I would appeal that if he is alive, that he would contact someone, or that if anyone knows that he's alive or knows his whereabouts, to make contact with gardaí," he said.
Journalist Zara King has been investigating the ongoing missing persons case for a new TV documentary, which aired on Virgin Media One Thursday evening.
The Search for Michael Gaine pieces together the mystery that continues to haunt the rural Kerry community through interviews with those close to Michael and the locals who joined the search.
The documentary offered an in-depth look at the efforts to find Michael and the impact his disappearance has had on those around him.
"In a time when we have never been more connected, how could someone vanish without a trace?" asks King in the programme.
"Investigators have followed up more than 200 formal enquiries but the question remains unanswered; where is Michael Gaine?"
Speaking in the documentary, Minister of State Michael Healy-Rae said Michael's disappearance is "one of the biggest mysterious we've had in my lifetime" and that "everyone of us is searching for an answer, searching for a conclusion to come as quickly as possible".
Mr Healy-Rae issued an urgent appeal to members of the public who have any information on Michael's disappearance to come forward.
"Somebody somewhere knows something," he said. "Somebody obviously knows something and I keep saying this in a public plea type of way.
"If you saw something, it's not for us to decide what's important or not, if you know anything, if you think you saw something, tell that to the people in charge of the investigation. Tell that to the Gardai and they'll decide if it's important or not.
"Mike deserves from us our support, his family deserve our support and there's no such thing as giving up or saying 'this isn't going to work'.
"We can't say that because we owe Mike, we owe his wife and we owe his family a lot more than that."
Radio Kerry broadcaster Gerry O'Sullivan, who has been covering Michael's disappearance on his mid-morning radio show, admitted that the search "can't go on forever", but locals remain hopeful that "some sort of an answer will be provided and some sort of a breakthrough will come".
"That's what everyone of us is hoping for everyday, that the news will come that something has been found, some way of proving an answer to where Mike is will be provided to his family," he said. "That's the hope."
An Garda Síochána continues to appeal to any person who may have any information on Michael's whereabouts to contact Killarney Garda Station on 064 667 1160, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Story Saved
You can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.
