Cookstown man seen in other towns around time he disappeared

A COOKSTOWN man who went missing in January 2007 may have been spotted in other towns across the North in the weeks after his disappearance, an inquest has heard.

One witness, Belinda Kelly, gave a statement in 2007 in which she stated that she believes to have seen a man matching Mr Conway’s description on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 outside a supermarket in Toome.

Mrs Kelly claims to have witnessed two men, one with a ‘country accent’ and another with an ‘Eastern European’ accent who were in the midst of an argument over who was going to enter the shop to buy cigarettes.

“I was born and bred in Toome and knew they were strangers to the area,” Mrs Kelly said.

Another statement, which was given by a man by the name of Darren Crooks in March 2007, reported a sighting of a man in the Doury Road Estate area in Ballymena whom he believed was potentially Mr Conway.

Mr Crooks’ statement described a man standing at the entrance of an alleyway who looked like the boxer Scott Harrison. He further described the man he saw as ‘in his 30s’ and said that ‘looked like a drinker’.

A number of days later Mr Crooks said he saw a photo of Mr Conway after he had been reported missing and had ‘no doubt’ that it was the man he had seen in Ballymena.

Further witness statements also reported sightings of men in the Castlecaulfield and Magherafelt who matched Mr Conway’s description in the weeks after his disappearance.

A number of further sightings within the Cookstown area were also heard, one of which occurred in the Clare Lane area where Mr Conway was believed to have been last seen alive, with another report of a sighting on Loy Street, Cookstown on January 30, 2007 and approximately 11.30pm in which the witness stated that Mr Conway seemed to be under the influence of alcohol.

The inquest is expected to finish tomorrow.