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A major underwater search has taken place in a bid to find missing Larne man, Gary Patterson.

Mr Patterson (45) was last seen in the east Antrim town on Saturday, October 12 2024.

He is known to have withdrawn some money from an ATM outside Tesco Express at 32 Main Street, Larne on that date.

Gary, who has links to the Larne and Belfast areas, was reported missing on Friday, December 20 2024.

Heartbroken relatives of Gary Patterson, who was last spotted on CCTV leaving his flat in the Priory Gardens area of Larne on October 12, have now drafted in a private search and rescue team. Photo: PACEMAKER BELFAST

Community land searches in Larne have been ongoing since.

In the early stages of the investigation, an initial search in Belfast was carried out after a photograph taken there surfaced of an individual who resembled Gary.

However, further searches in the city were ruled out after family met with the person concerned, said the missing man’s brother, Simon Patterson.

Efforts to find Gary extended to an area of Larne Lough on Sunday (February 16) after after his family launched a fundraising appeal in a bid to secure help from a private search and rescue group.

When last seen, Gary had a thick moustache and was wearing a distinctive yellow and black check patterned coat with dark blue jeans, hiking/walking boots and a black beanie hat (pictured). Police have asked anyone who may have information which may help to locate him to contact them on 101, quoting reference 530 of 20/12/24. Photo provided by PSNI

The appeal helped fund a dive search team from England, whose operation at the Lough took place in tandem with a further on-ground search over the weekend.

Also assisting were volunteer teams from Tyrone Underwater Search & Recovery and Boyne Fishermen.

Simon Patterson said the decision to search the water arose after extensive land searches in Larne failed to shed any light on his brother’s whereabouts.

“We have been round all the derelict buildings and waste ground in the Larne area; the team from England reached out to offer their help in searching places that the public didn’t have access to, like underwater tunnels,” added Simon.

The combined operation on Sunday involved the use of sonar and a remotely-operated underwater camera known as an ROV.

Unfortunately, the teams did not detect any new leads in the search for Gary, leaving his distraught family no further forward.

Community searches in the Larne area will continue on Sunday, February 23, meeting on Larne’s Main Street at 10am.

Meanwhile, the Facebook group ‘Let’s Find Gary’ continues to share updates on search efforts.

“As long as there is support and people want to help we will continue to look for Gary; we just want to have closure and the peace of mind that we have checked everywhere we can,” Simon added.

Gary Patterson: search for missing Larne man continues with underwater operation at Larne Lough