Family of Renfrew man missing in Lanzarote told case into disappearance closed

The family of a Renfrewshire man who disappeared over a year ago in Lanzarote have been told by police that the case into his disappearance has been closed.

Gary Shearer, from Renfrew, travelled to the resort town of Puerto del Carmen in the Canary Islands on March 16 last year, to celebrate St Patrick’s Day.

The last confirmed sighting of the Celtic fan was in the early hours of March 17, walking with a man in his 60s or 70s in the direction of San Antonio.

CCTV images were released of the pair in August, however Spanish authorities haven’t been able to trace the man.

No further sightings of Gary have been reported since, and his family have now revealed that the case into his disappearance has been closed – but they will keep searching as somebody “definitely knows what happened”.

Sharing an update on social media, Gary’s family said: “A few weeks ago we as a family were told that Gary’s case would be closed by Spanish police, and they are not actively making any efforts to investigate any further. We still have no idea what happened to him or have any further information.

“We will do everything in our power to keep Gary’s name out there and never let him or this story be forgotten but once again we will have no help from the police in this.

“We will continue to keep posters up etc in the hopes that someone will come forward and help us understand because we know that someone, somewhere definitely knows what happened that night.”

Glasgow & West

‘Someone knows something’: Family’s plea one year after son disappeared in Lanzarote

Gary Shearer travelled to the Canary Islands to celebrate St Patrick’s Day but disappeared hours into his trip.

A year on from his disappearance, his devastated family previously told STV News the situation had been “hot”.

Gary’s father Daniel Shearer said: “You just can’t get on with life because you feel like you want to do something but you can’t do anything. It’s nagging at you all the time. You say to yourself, ‘I could have done this, I could have done that’ but you can’t go back on things.

“I went over to Lanzarote with him and when he said he was going himself back over to Lanzarote, I said I wasn’t going – the guilt I feel now because I said I wasn’t going. If I had been with him, it would never have happened. Never.”

Gary was last seen wearing a Celtic top, shorts, and white Nike trainers with green and yellow flashes.

He is described as being around 5ft 2in tall, has short hair, and walks with a distinctive limp.

His family said he also has epilepsy and type 2 diabetes.

The Civil Guard have been contacted for comment.