THE BODY of a man found in a river in Australia is that of a missing Co Armagh man, the family has confirmed.
Stephen King (28) from Keady was last seen leaving an Irish bar in Melbourne after a night out with friends two weeks ago.
His friends believed that he was going to a casino when he left the Irish pub at about 3.10am on July 19th.
A body was discovered on Saturday in the Yarra River, which runs close to the Southgate area where Mr King had been socialising.
A spokeswoman for Victoria Police said the body was “most likely” that of Mr King but police could not officially confirm the identity of the remains until DNA tests had been carried out by the coroner. The results of those tests are expected in the next few days.
Mr King, a bricklayer, arrived in Australia in June on a one-year working visa. He had been living with friends in the St Kilda area of south Melbourne.
Members of the King family yesterday thanked the local community and people in Australia for their support during the two weeks since Stephen went missing. Speaking to Australian media, his brother Séamus, who flew to Australia to help with search efforts, said the family was shattered by the news.
“We’ve spent the day on the phone talking to our family in Ireland and obviously our parents are devastated,” he said.
“But we have been heartened and are grateful to so many strangers and friends in Melbourne who have been helping us through this ordeal.”
Dozens of Irish volunteers helped search the streets and lobby police and politicians to step up their efforts. Last week family members met Melbourne Lord Mayor John So to discuss the case.
It is understood the family has yet to finalise arrangements to fly the body home.
