Irish police fear N.Z. man slain

Press, 13 September 1988, Page 1

Irish police fear N.Z. man slain

By

DAVE WILSON

Police in Dublin last evening said they were no closer to solving the mysterious disappearance of a former Ashburton man who vanished from his home in southern Ireland on July 1, and might have been murdered. Gregor “Jack” Evans, an antique furniture restorer, aged 41, disappeared from his home in the small settlement of Dunbittern West and is now the subject of a national police alert. “A description of him has been circulated to every police station in the country in case he turns up,” a spokesman for the Dublin police said. No sightings had been reported. Although Mr Evans is officially listed as missing, police are treating the case as murder. “We can’t say he has been murdered because there is no body and no particular searches are planned because we simply don’t know where to look,” the spokesman said. But police fear for Mr Evans’ life and have charged an Englishman, Barry Unsworth, aged 30, with maliciously wounding Mr Evans at Dunbittern West be-

tween July 1 and July 4, and with falsely imprisoning him. Unsworth has been remanded in custody, without plea, until this Friday. Police in England are also looking for an Austrian, William Diemling, in relation to the matter. Diemling was arrested in Berkshire last week for allegedly being in possession of a rifle. However, he escaped from police custody last Tuesday and is still at large. The Dublin police spokesman said it was too early to know if police would add other names to the list of. those wanted for questioning in connection with Mr Evans’ disappearance. “Quite a few police, I can’t give you the exact number, are working on this case and it is a nationwide investigation.” A dispute over a property deal is believed to be at the heart of Mr Evans’ disappearance. Last evening police could offer little additional information on the motive. “We believe it’s related to a property deal but as yet we don’t have the full facts.” In New Zealand, Mr Evans’

family have been anxiously awaiting news from Ireland and yesterday Mr Evans’ brother in Christchurch said he was still upset at the manner in which the family heard of Mr Evans’ disappearance. “We knew nothing about it until a member of the family heard about it on a radio news bulletin at the week-end. It was a pretty insensitive way to notify the family.” The brother, who declined to be identified, said Gregor Evans, known as Jack in his adopted community, left New Zealand about 20 years ago. “He was raised in Ashburton but he’s been away from New Zealand pretty much since he left school. He’s very much an international person who had been living in Ireland for the last 10 years.” The brother said he had not been in contact with Mr Evans since a meeting in London in 1979. Mr Evans’ mother and sister live in Auckland from where the family has been in touch with the Irish police for any new developments in the disappearance.