Gardaí interview almost 60 people in Iceland in Jón Jónsson disappearance investigation
Jón Jónsson, a 41-year-old Icelandic man and father of four, went missing on 9 February 2019 after leaving the Bonnington Hotel on the Swords Road in north Dublin, where he had been staying to play in the Dublin Poker Festival. His family believes he may have been murdered by a paid hitman in a case of mistaken identity. In April and May 2025, Gardaí carried out four new searches in north Dublin using cadaver dogs and met Icelandic police at Europol in The Hague to formulate a strategy. In late June 2025, a team of five gardaí led by Det Supt Alan Brady travelled to Reykjavik and interviewed almost 60 people, with formal statements taken from 46 under the supervision of the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police. Gardaí returned to Ireland on Saturday and will now review the information obtained.
- Reported19 Jun
2 reports - Arrested
- Charged
- In court
- Verdict
- Sentenced
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- Jón Jónsson, a 41-year-old Icelandic man and father of four, went missing after visiting Ireland with his partner to play in the Dublin Poker Festival.
- Where
- He left the Bonnington Hotel on the Swords Road in north Dublin on foot at about 11am and was last seen on the Swords Road, with a security camera recording him 200m away passing the entrance to a nursing home next to the hotel.
- When
- He disappeared on 9 February 2019, having been in Ireland for less than 24 hours.
- Other details
- His family believes he may have been murdered by a paid hitman in a case of mistaken identity, with one line of investigation being that the hitman intended to target a different Icelandic man visiting Ireland at the time.
- He had never been to Ireland before, had no friends or family there, and had never gone missing before.
- Investigation
- A search of Santry Demesne was carried out in 2024, and in April and May 2025 four new searches in north Dublin were conducted using cadaver dogs.
- In May 2025 Gardaí met Icelandic police at Europol in The Hague to formulate a strategy, and a court order was obtained to facilitate the international co-operation.
- In late June 2025 a team of five gardaí led by Det Supt Alan Brady travelled to Reykjavik and interviewed almost 60 people, with formal statements taken from 46 under the supervision of the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police headed by Det Chief Insp Eiríkur Valberg.
- Gardaí had no powers to arrest or charge during the Iceland visit and returned to Ireland on Saturday to review and process the information obtained.
30 statements extracted from the articles
- whatJón Jónsson went missing after visiting from Iceland with his partner to play in a poker tournament (irishtimes.com)
- whatHe was recorded by a security camera 200m away passing the entrance to a nursing home next to the hotel (irishtimes.com)
- whatJón Jónsson was an Icelandic poker player who went missing while attending the Dublin Poker Festival in February 2019. (irishtimes.com)
- whatHe was 41 at the time of his disappearance. (irishtimes.com)
- whatJón Jónsson was a father of four. (irishtimes.com)
- whereHe left the Bonnington Hotel on the Swords Road in north Dublin (irishtimes.com)
- whereHe was last seen on the Swords Road in north Dublin after leaving the Bonnington Hotel on 9 February 2019. (irishtimes.com)
- whenJón Jónsson, a father of four and taxi driver, vanished on 9 February 2019 (irishtimes.com)
- whenHe left the hotel on foot at about 11am (irishtimes.com)
- whenHe had been in Ireland for less than 24 hours at the time of his disappearance. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGarda detectives are to travel to Iceland to interview dozens of people about the disappearance and potential murder of Jón Jónsson (irishtimes.com)
- investigationSeveral fresh searches have been conducted in Dublin in recent months (irishtimes.com)
- investigationA Garda team will travel to Reykjavik to interview at least 35 people connected to Jón Jónsson (irishtimes.com)
- investigationThe visit is being facilitated and organised by Icelandic police (irishtimes.com)
- investigationThe visit is expected to coincide with a renewed public appeal for information in Iceland including a press conference (irishtimes.com)
- investigationIn April, investigating gardaí carried out four new searches in Dublin with the help of cadaver dogs (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGardaí travelled to Europol headquarters in The Hague where they met Icelandic police and formulated a strategy (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGardaí interviewed almost 60 people in Iceland as part of the investigation into Jón Jónsson's disappearance. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationFormal statements were taken from 46 of those interviewed under the supervision of the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationThe international co-operation was the result of a court order following a meeting at Europol in May 2025. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationA team of five gardaí led by Det Supt Alan Brady liaised with Icelandic counterparts headed by Det Chief Insp Eiríkur Valberg of the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGardaí returned to Ireland from Reykjavik on Saturday. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationFour new searches in north Dublin were carried out in May 2025 using cadaver dogs. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationA search of Santry Demesne was carried out in 2024. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGardaí appealed to the public in Iceland to come forward with information that might assist the investigation. (irishtimes.com)
- courtIcelandic courts have approved the Garda visit (irishtimes.com)
- otherHis family believes he may have been murdered by a paid hitman in a case of mistaken identity (irishtimes.com)
- otherOne line of investigation is that the hitman intended to target a different Icelandic man visiting Ireland at the time (irishtimes.com)
- otherGardaí will not have any powers to arrest or charge people during the Iceland visit (irishtimes.com)
- otherHe had never been to Ireland before, had no friends or family there, and had never gone missing before (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 2 Jul2025Jón Jónsson disappearance: Gardaí interview almost 60 people in Iceland
Reports on a new phase of the investigation: a team of five gardaí led by Det Supt Alan Brady travelled to Reykjavik and interviewed almost 60 people, with formal statements taken from 46 under the supervision of the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police. Gardaí also conducted four new searches in north Dublin in May 2025 using cadaver dogs, and a search of Santry Demesne was carried out in 2024.
victim, Jón Jónsson, 41, male, Icelandic, non-irishJón Jónsson - 19 Jun2025Gardaí to interview dozens in Iceland over potential murder of Jón Jónsson in Dublin
Reports on the planned Garda trip to Reykjavik to interview at least 35 people, the family's belief about a hitman and mistaken identity targeting a different Icelandic man, four new searches in Dublin in April using cadaver dogs, and a strategy meeting at Europol in The Hague.
victim, Jón Jónsson, male, Icelandic, non-irishJón Jónsson