Trevor Deely was a young man who vanished in 2000. His age progression depicts him at 35 years old.
Background[]
Trevor was born on 15 August 1978 to parents Michael and Ann Deely. He had three older siblings, Mark, Michele and Pamela, with whom he got along well. He was raised in Naas, County Kildare, where he attended school. He wasn’t particularly academic, but he liked maths and was described as easygoing by those who knew him. After school, he studied business at the Waterford Institute of Technology while working part-time in a supermarket. However, he dropped out during his second year and started studying computer science instead.
In May 1999, Trevor began working at the AIB bank on Leeson Street in Dublin. He was a member of the IT department along with ten other employees. He was known to be a hard worker, and his former manager spoke positively of him, describing him as a “good guy”.
A few weeks before his disappearance, Trevor had taken a vacation in Alaska. One of his friends worked as a long-haul flight attendant and gave him a discount, which made the flight effectively free. He went over with the hope of reconnecting with a girl he had previously met in Dublin. Two Gardai later traveled to Alaska but determined the trip wasn’t linked to his disappearance.
Upon returning home to Ireland, Trevor decided to visit his family despite being jet lagged. He appeared to have enjoyed his trip and wanted to tell them about the icebergs he had seen. They haven’t seen him since this visit.
Case[]
Disappearance[]
Trevor was last seen in Dublin, Ireland, on 8 December 2000. On the evening of 9 December, Trevor attended a Christmas party with his colleagues. They started the night by getting drinks at a nightclub called Copper Face Jacks and moved on to the Hilton Hotel. Trevor's night ended at 3:25 A.M. the next morning when he decided to go home. By then, the party had moved again to Buck Whaley’s, a nightclub on Lower Leeson Street. The weather was poor, with heavy rain and wind, but there was also a taxi strike, so Trevor had to walk to his apartment in the Renior Complex on Serpentine Avenue in Ballsbridge. He stopped off at his office, which he arrived at roughly ten minutes after leaving the club on the way.
Outside the office, Trevor spoke to an unidentified man wearing dark clothing, including a hoodie. The man had been waiting for approximately half an hour and left after conversing with Trevor. He didn’t have an umbrella and was standing outside despite the poor weather, although he was partially shielded from the elements by a pillar he was standing behind. When Trevor appeared, he took a few steps out to approach him despite remaining relatively still before that point. Two other men were also seen on CCTV footage outside the building that night, but it was later discovered that they worked there.
After entering the bank, Trevor made tea, chatted with a colleague, and checked his emails. He also made a list of things he would need to do in the morning, suggesting he wasn’t intending to go missing. It is worth noting that his colleague did not think he was very drunk at this point.
Trevor left the office at 4:03 A.M., taking an umbrella with him and continuing toward Ballsbridge. At roughly the same time, he sent a voicemail to a friend in Naas, saying he was on his way home and hoping to speak to him the next day. The friend didn’t think much of the voicemail, so he deleted it after listening to it, and the Gardai never attempted to retrieve it.
Trevor was last seen on CCTV footage walking past an AIB bank on the corner of Baggot Street Bridge and Haddington Road at 4:14 A.M. Approximately thirty seconds later, a man wearing black walked or jogged past the same CCTV camera. The Gardai believe this is the same man Trevor had spoken without outside his office earlier that night. The footage of the unidentified man has been enhanced, but he has never come forward. The Gardai believe that Trevor’s encounter with this man was not planned in advance and that whatever occurred between them that day was entirely a chance encounter.
Trevor’s disappearance wasn’t noticed for several days. His colleagues assumed he was absent from work the next morning because he was tired after attending the party. He did have flatmates, but they were away for the weekend, so no one was alarmed until he failed to show up at work the next Monday. At that point, a college realized no one had seen Trevor and notified human resources. His family subsequently discovered that he was missing.
Theories[]
The main theory in Trevor’s case is that he was murdered, and his body has simply never been found. In 2017, the Gardai received a tip that Trevor had been shot by someone threatening him with a gun. The tipster claims this person, a known criminal, hadn’t intended to shoot him but that he had been subjected to unspecified abuse before his death. Trevor’s killer then disposed of his body in the Lucas Canal, although when it was searched, nothing was found. In 2019, another tipster came forward with a similar story, which also involved Trevor being accidentally shot by a known criminal. This lead was considered significant and led to a search that uncovered drugs and a gun but not Trevor’s whereabouts.
While Trevor was relatively tall, he also had a thin build and looked younger than he was. This has led to speculation that someone with ill intentions may have viewed him as an easy target.
While Trevor was last seen near a canal, it isn’t considered likely that he drowned. His family repeatedly attempted to call him after his disappearance, and his phone continued to ring for several days. An expert confirmed that this would not have been possible if the phone had been underwater. Despite this, a Garda sub-aqua team searched the river Dodder and the Grand Canal. Draining the Grand Canal to conduct a more thorough search was impossible because it would pose a risk to surrounding buildings.
It is also considered highly unlikely that Trevor committed suicide. He had no history of mental health problems and was in good spirits when he went missing. Trevor was considered to be a happy and sociable young man.
Recent Developments[]
The area Trevor was last seen in, particularly around the canal, was well-socialized in 2000. Given the widespread publicity surrounding his case, Gardai believed there were probably some witnesses to whatever happened to Trevor that night. They know that there were people near the canal that morning, and they have appealed for these people to come forward. They have stated that they will deal with anyone coming forward with information ‘sensitively’ and that no one will get in trouble for not coming forward sooner. They have also stated that even if someone has insignificant information, it is important to tell the authorities.
Crime stoppers are offering £100,000 for any information that significantly assists in Trevor’s case.
Gallery[]
Characteristics[]
- Red/blonde hair.
- Green eyes.
- Thin build.
- Distinctive gait and walked with arms straight down at sides.
Clothing and accessories[]
- Yellow and brown shirt.
- Beige cord trousers.
Belongings[]
- Blue ACC golf umbrella.
- Nokia 1610 phone.