A body has been found during the search for a missing man in Co Clare.
The discovery was made at around 2.20pm on flooded lands at Moyree near Ruan by teams searching for 65-year-old bachelor farmer Michael Vaughan.
Mr Vaughan, who lived alone at Moyree, was last seen in Ennis at lunchtime on Wednesday and was reported missing on Friday when his family became concerned for his wellbeing.
Gardaí and members of Clare Civil Defence commenced a local search on Friday night concentrating on lands and buildings around Mr Vaughan’s home. It’s understood the his car and mobile phone were found in the house.
Early on Saturday, the search resumed and expanded to cover surrounding properties, outbuildings and hundreds of acres of farmland, scrub as well as local lakes and rivers.
The Shannon based Irish Coast Guard search and rescue helicopter carried a search of the area for a time with no sign of the man.
The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard was requested to assist and travelled with a boat and quad bike to help search the area.
Dozens of locals combed fields, ditches and country roads in the hope of finding any trace of Mr Vaughan.
Divers, assisted my Clare Civil Defence Swiftwater and Flood First Responders (SFFR), searched the area around an overflown river
Search teams located Mr Vaughan’s body on flooded lands close to his home.
The body was recovered from the water by members of Clare Civil Defence and was removed to University Hospital Limerick where a postmortem examination is expected to be carried out.
Hundreds of acres of land and several roads in the area have been left flooded by the recent heavy rainfall however the circumstances of Mr Vaughan’s death are still unclear.
It’s known he had been unwell last year and may have fallen ill or suffered a fall. Gardaí have confirmed they are not treating the death as suspicious.
One local man said: “It was amazing to see all the people who came out to search for Mike. I saw the helicopter around during the morning (Saturday) so knew there was something wrong. It was very low.”
“I went up the road and that’s when I found out Mike was missing. I got my dog and started searching with a few other lads but then I heard he was found,” he said.