Recovered body that of missing Irishman

THE BODY recovered from a river in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz has been identified as Wicklow man James Nolan, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore confirmed last night.

Mr Gilmore extended his sympathies to the family and friends of the football fan and student (21) who had been missing since the early hours of Sunday.

Members of Mr Nolan’s family arrived in the northern Polish city last night to identify the body.

The Irish Ambassador to Poland, Eugene Hutchinson, met the family as they arrived in Poland and escorted them to Bydgoszcz.

Police looking for the missing football fan recovered a body from a river in the city yesterday morning.

Mr Gilmore said embassy officials would provide assistance to the Nolan family so that his remains could be returned home as soon as possible.

He thanked the Polish authorities and emergency services search teams for their assistance.

Candles were lit and ribbons in the Irish colours were on display last night in the city near the scene where he went missing.

Mr Nolan, an environmental engineering student from Blessington, went missing in the early hours of Sunday after spending the night socialising with friends.

The search for Mr Nolan resumed yesterday morning with authorities shifting their focus to the river Brdo after a review of CCTV footage led police to the area.

It is understood that Mr Nolan was identified on footage which showed him walking towards Bydgoszcz cathedral at 1.46am on Sunday.

Police confirmed at about 11am yesterday that a man’s body had been recovered from the water at a marina nearby.

Local media reported there was no sign of any injuries on the body but the cause of death could not be definitively ascertained until the results of a postmortem, which was due to be held yesterday, were known.

“I can confirm that the body of a young man was pulled out of the river by divers,” said prosecutor Len Bojarski.

Before he went missing, Mr Nolan spent Saturday evening in the company of 10 Irish friends. The group later broke up in the old town area of Bydgoszcz before separately making their way back to their hotel. Mr Nolan was reported missing later on Sunday when his friends realised he had not returned to the hotel.

An extensive search was carried out by police and members of the local community.

A number of locations, including a wooded area around the hotel where Mr Nolan and his friends were staying and stretches of the river Brdo were searched.

Hotels, guesthouses, local hospitals and other healthcare facilities were checked and an extensive social media campaign was undertaken.

Thousands of Irish and Polish people visited a Facebook page and relayed requests on Twitter for information on Mr Nolan’s whereabouts.

High-profile figures including former England soccer international and football pundit Gary Lineker and prominent football writer Guillem Balague assisted the campaign.

Poland’s missing persons agency featured his photograph and carried a description on its website.

Mr Hutchinson travelled to the city on Tuesday and thanked local civil and police officials for their efforts.