Body found in river in search for Irish fan missing in Poland

Family of Wicklow man James Nolan fear the worst

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Sean Nolan

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Polish police have found the body of a man believed to be the Irish football fan missing since last Saturday.

The body was recovered from the Brda river in Bydgoszcz on Wednesday where Irish supporter James Nolan was last seen in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Wicklow native James, a 21-year-old environmental engineering student, had become detached from the group he was travelling with to the European Championships.

His parents had issued a plea for information on Tuesday while Irish police travelled to Poland to help with the search.

James, from Blessington in County Wicklow, had been in Poland since June 7th for the European Championships.

Irish police said on Wednesday morning they had been made aware of local reports that a body had been found but could not confirm further.

The search was made a top priority by the Bydgoszcz police commissioner.

Reports claim James and his Irish friends may have been involved in an altercation with Polish locals in the hours before he disappeared.

Bydgoszcz is halfway between Poznan and Gdansk, where Ireland played their Euro 2012 games.

The Irish group had stopped off there on Saturday night on their way back to Poznan to watch Ireland's game against Italy.

Police divers searched the River Brda, which runs through the city, on Monday and Tuesday and were doing so again on Wednesday morning when the body was found.

More than 100 officers had worked on the case.

Monika Chlebicz, a spokeswoman for the regional police force, told Irish media that around 100 officers were working on the case.

“Everything is under scrutiny,” she said. “But we can't say what happened on the night.”
 

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