THE Belfast man who disappeared after the murder of the republican paramilitary, John Fennell, in Bundoran, Co Donegal, on Monday night contacted gardai early yesterday morning.
Gardai initially said they feared for the safety of Mr Seamus Halligan (25), who had not been seen since Monday night when he was drinking with Mr Fennell (40), who was beaten to death.
Mr Halligan was dressed in a boiler suit, his head was covered and his hands tied when he was located by gardai in Co Louth.
He said he had been dumped out of a van at around 3 a.m. He made his way to a public telephone and made a 999 call, after which a Garda car from Dundalk met him and took him back to the Garda station.
He was described as being a nervous wreck and visibly shaken when gardai collected him.
However, he was seen by a doctor and found to have no major injuries.
Mr Halligan's parents travelled to Dundalk to see him yesterday. His brother Francis spoke to him by telephone.
"Seamus gave no indication of where he was for the past few days or how he got to Co Louth from Bundoran," he said.
"Seamus just kept saying he was OK and that he wanted to see his parents. He seemed very nervous, upset and incoherent. His words were jumpy."
Mr Francis Halligan said his brother had no serious physical injuries but had complained of sore ribs".
Mr Fennell, who is was from Ardoyne, will be buried in Belfast today. He was reportedly killed as part of an internal feud in the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA).
He was a founding member of the organisation and part of a faction which was responsible for the killing of the "chief of staff", Gino Gallagher, in Belfast in January.