The children of a British father who went missing while on holiday in Benidorm have begged Santa to ‘bring their daddy home’ in a desperate plea.
John Hardy was first reported missing after he failed to board his flight home last Wednesday, December 18.
The 37-year-old had been enjoying a sunny break at a friend’s home in Alicante along Spain’s Costa del Sol, before later leaving to meet up with other friends in nearby Benidorm.
However, the Belfast-native has not been seen since, leaving his family and two young boys ‘worried sick’ over his wellbeing.
According to his sister Courtney George, John would never even go two days without contacting her, but they have now not spoken in nine.
The pharmacy assistant, who had planned to welcome John for Christmas dinner, says ‘all his kids want for Christmas is for him to come home’.
Courtney, whose GoFundMe has more than £12,000 of donations, says she feels like ‘setting her tree on fire and running away from this nightmare’.
She added that her nephews have been finding the news very difficult to deal with, especially given John’s eldest son has seen ‘everything on social media’.
37-year-old John Hardy was last seen in Benidorm on December 18 but has not been heard or seen from since
Hardy was last seen with friends in Benidorm along Spain’s Costa del Sol last Wednesday, December 18
Having recently lost a separate family member, Courtney shared that her brother’s children are very ‘distressed’ by the disappearance of their father.
‘They love their daddy. All they want for Christmas is their dad to come home’, Courtney said.
Describing her own difficulties in dealing with the worrying situation, Courtney added: ‘I haven’t eaten in five days and been physically sick because of it’.
The family’s GoFundMe page has also called on a search party to be set up to help locate Hardy as soon as possible.
‘It’s family time so nobody will be looking for our family when they want to spend it with their own.
‘It’s very urgent because places close and people go on holiday.
‘We already know that we won’t have John for Christmas’, they said.
Mum-of-two Courtney also said they can’t believe the amazing support through the GoFundMe from both Belfast and further afield.
A spokesperson for the Police Service of Northern Ireland said: ‘The Police Service of Northern Ireland received a report on Wednesday, 18th December that a 37-year-old man from Belfast, holidaying in Spain, was believed to be missing.
‘Enquiries are ongoing in conjunction with our international policing partners’.
