THE FATHER of Ken Fetherston, whose remains were identified yesterday, has spoken of the family’s devastation at his death.
The 26-year-old from Tallaght in Dublin was reported missing on September 22nd. Skeletal remains were discovered at the Viewing Point on Military Road, Rathfarnham, on Sunday, and were confirmed as being those of Mr Fetherston yesterday morning. A murder investigation has now been launched.
The father-of-one had last been seen at Landy’s Industrial Estate in nearby Knocklyon on the day he went missing.
Gardaí believe Mr Fetherston may have been killed when he sought the return of money he had given to somebody known to him. Detectives investigating the killing are working on a definite line of inquiry.
Garda sources said Mr Fetherston was not known to them for any involvement in crime. He came from a good family, was not a member of a crime gang and had no links to the drugs trade.
His father Brian said the family was very upset at the identification of his body yesterday. “It was devastating news that we got,” he said.
While he said it was a relief to know that his son’s body had been found, it was also very painful. “As one nightmare ends, another begins and that’s basically the way it is,” he said.
He said the family had been searching the countryside looking for Ken since he went missing. On the day his remains had been found, Brian Fetherston had been searching woods in Gorey, Co Wexford.
His son’s red Honda Civic had been found parked in a lay-by on the N11 at Gorey, four days after his disappearance. His blood was found in and around the boot of the car, and his crutch, which he had been using following a foot injury, was missing.
“At least we won’t be out searching the country, looking for Ken any longer,” Mr Fetherston said yesterday. “We are going to know where he is.”
Mr Fetherston said his son’s disappearance was noticed very quickly on September 22nd, because he was in constant contact with his family. He had tried and failed to contact his son on that afternoon. “We thought, there’s something not right here.”
The family searched for him the next day but no one had seen him, and the alarm was raised with gardaí. His car was found on September 26th and the family feared the worst, Mr Fetherston said.
He said Ken idolised his three-year-old daughter and was never the type of person to let a day pass without speaking to the family.
“There wasn’t a day that would go by that he wasn’t ringing, to find out was she all right. If he was out doing a job he’d be on the phone every two hours or so,” he said.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today With Pat Kenny earlier yesterday before the body was positively identified, he said his son had not been in trouble before his disappearance.
He said the family had their own suspicions about who was responsible for the abduction. His son had received compensation following an accident and would lend money to people who needed it.
“He was a very likeable type of guy and he saw no harm in anybody, and if somebody said ‘I’m stuck for a few bob’, [he’d say] ‘There’s no problem, here you go, I have a few bob, there you are.’ And that’s just the kind of guy he was.”
Mr Fetherston recalled that his son was always active and always working. “He didn’t like to be idle at all,” he said. He drove buses, loved cars and was always doing them up and selling them in his spare time, he added.
“We just have to keep going,” Mr Fetherston said. “There’s a long road ahead.”
Gardaí made a number of appeals to the public for information yesterday.
They asked anyone who was in the area of Landy’s Industrial Estate in Knocklyon on or about September 22nd, 2009, to contact them.
They said they would also like to speak to anyone who may have been in the area of Perrymount, near Gorey, Co Wexford, on or about September 26th, and who might have seen anything unusual.
They asked for anyone who may have noticed anything unusual in the Military Road area of Rathfarnham over the last number of months to contact the incident room at Tallaght Garda station on 01-6666056.