Search icon

News

07th Jan 2019

Concern for Irish man believed to be missing in South Africa

Alan Loughnane

Irishman missing South Africa

There are fears for the safety of an Irish man who has gone missing while visiting South Africa.

The family of Irish man Stanley Currie, who is believed to have flown to South Africa last week to meet a woman he had been speaking to online, have said they have not heard from him since he left on 30 December.

The family of the 66-year-old from Tyrone made an appeal on Facebook, saying he went to meet a woman who he had been talking to online for two years.

“He hadn’t booked any accommodation over there. [He] was carrying a large amount of cash,” Stanley’s brother Richard said, adding that Stanley suffered from depression and a heart condition.

“This person who he was going to meet… no one from the family has any idea who she is and we are obviously concerned that it is a scam,” he added.

The South African Community Crime Watch group said they are trying to confirm if Currie arrived in South Africa.

“We are still busy with investigations. At this stage, we have a little information, which we cannot put out to the public yet. But we cannot conclusively say whether he arrived in South Africa,” SACCW spokesperson Steven King told Times Live.

“The family tried to find out what airline he used but it seems as though he missed his first flight, which had been booked by a neighbour. Someone else booked a second flight for him,” King said.

LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Conor Sketches | Tiger Woods loves Ger Loughnane and cosplaying as Charles LeClerc