Stephen Warde, who had been missing for eight weeks in Malaysia, has been found safe and well.
The 31-year-old was last seen leaving his Airbnb in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on 29 December last year. He had remained in contact with his family until 1 January.
Stephen’s mother Mary had flown out to the Malaysian capital in order to help with the search.
The great news was confirmed by Councillor Joe Byrne, a Fine Gael member of the Galway County Council, who confirmed to JOE that he had been in communication with the family, and that Stephen had been found “in the last few hours.”
Byrne said he was hopeful that an official statement would be issued at some point on Thursday.
A Facebook page titled “Help Find Stephen Warde – in Malaysia” which had been organising fundraising events for the search efforts also confirmed the news, posting “Stephen Warde has been found safe & well in Malaysia. More information to follow when we have it.”
A GoFundMe page for Stephen had reached over €19,000. The money went to financing the search, “including potential medical expenses when he is found, accommodation for his family while in Kuala Lumpur, the cost of a private investigator (as recommended by the KL police), and a reward for any information leading to his whereabouts.”
Any spare money will be donated to a missing persons charity.
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