Dean Patton: possible sighting in Belfast

STEVEN MCAULEY/KEVIN MCAULEY PHOTOGRAPHY MULTIMEDIA.. 31 JULY 2012..Dean Patton from Portrush who has been missing since the 24th July.. Pic Steven McAuley/Kevin McAuley Photography Multimedia

The renewed appeal comes as police say there has been a possible sighting of Dean in Botanic Gardens area of Belfast on the afternoon August, 4, 2015.

The 27-year-old was last seen in Portrush area in July 2012 and despite extensive land and sea searches, his loved ones have no idea where he is.

Family members and close friends have not spoken to Dean since he attended a party in Portrush the night before he vanished.

The last sighting was on CCTV as he went into the Nisa store in Portrush. They used money from the sale of their property to fund further searches in the coming months and a £10,000 reward was put up for any information on Dean.

In a first for Northern Ireland, special drones were brought in to help scour the area’s coastline in the weeks after Dean went missing, but they failed to uncover any clues.

Anyone with any information is asked to make contact with the PSNI on 101 or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.