Belief that missing Trevor Deely is alive ‘only thing that keeps us going’ says parents

The parents of missing Trevor Deely have said their belief that their son is still alive is “the only thing that keeps us going”.

Michael and Ann Deely will today mark the 15th anniversary of the last sighting of Trevor, then 22 years old, with a private prayer service at their home in Naas, Co Kildare.

The devastated couple, who have three other children and nine grandchildren, have endured yet another frustrating year in which not one lead has emerged into their youngest child’s disappearance.

However, Michael, 73 — who was one of hundreds of people who attended last week’s national Missing Persons Day at Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park — insisted he has not given up hope that Trevor will one day walk back through the door of the family home.

He said: “We feel that Trevor’s alive and that will only change if it’s proved otherwise. Our belief that Trevor is still alive is the only thing that keeps us going.”

Michael, a devout Catholic, said the pain of not knowing where his son is remains as acute as the first day he vanished.

He said: “I think about it constantly and it keeps me awake at night. It doesn’t get any easier. My faith is important to me and that’s given me the strength to carry on.

“But I just don’t know what more we can do at this stage. We’ve stopped doing the poster campaign we used to do in Dublin at this time of year, because people are very familiar with Trevor’s case and what he looks like.

“But unfortunately, there have been no new leads in the case and we still don’t have a clue what happened to him.”

As one of Ireland’s most high-profile missing persons cases, the image of Trevor and the key facts in his disappearance in the early hours of December 8, 2000, in Dublin are well-known.

The last image captured of him was on CCTV walking down Haddington Rd towards his flat in Ballsbridge, south Dublin, at 4.14am, having previously returned to his office where he picked up an umbrella after a night out at Buck Whaley’s nightclub on Leeson St.

He rang a friend and left a message, saying he had had a great night and would talk to him later. He has never been seen or heard from since.

Michael added: “I would hope more resources could be given to the gardaí to help them solve missing persons cases.

“We know that someone out there must know something and I urge anyone who has information in relation to Trevor, however small or insignificant it may seem, to get in contact with the gardaí.

“It’s our dearest wish that one Christmas he’ll walk back through the front door again.”