A missing man from County Tyrone whose body was found in a reservoir had been dismembered.
The chilling discovery of Damien Heagney’s mutilated remains was made just weeks after police were alerted to the 47-year-old’s disappearance.
Mr Heagney, from the village of Dromore, outside of Cookstown in county Tyrone, was last seen on New Year’s Eve of 2021 in the Dromore area.
Major Investigation Team detectives from the PSNI discovered his body in Cappagh Reservoir in Galbally on Wednesday during a search involving a team of specialist divers. The charity Crimestoppers has offered a reward of up to £20,000 for information leading to the prosecution of those responsible.
It is understood that police are trying to determine whether the body had been in the reservoir since the murder, or if it was moved from another location and placed in the water days or even weeks after Mr Heagney was killed.
Prior to the grisly discovery, police had searched multiple properties in Tyrone, and had taken away a number of items for examination. The PSNI further located his grey BMW car, but his three-year-old pet dog Tyson remains missing.
Police confirmed forensic tests had proved the remains discovered in the reservoir were those of Mr Heagney in a statement released on Friday night.
“The search of Cappagh reservoir as part of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance and murder of 47-year-old Damien Heagney has concluded”, the statement read.
On Sunday, reports broke that Mr Heagney’s body had been dismembered. Sunday Life and the Sunday World reported on the update, and further reported that a 50-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the death of Mr Heagney after police searched a house in Cookstown.
The man in question is a convicted drug dealer who served six months behind bars after being caught with a large consignment of drugs, according to The Sunday World.
“The man was arrested last Saturday by officers investigating the disappearance of Mr Heagney following a search of a property in the Cookstown area however he was released 24 hours later on bail pending further enquiries,” the Sunday World reported.
The paper also said it understood that detectives “have their sights set” on a second suspect who is well known in the County Tyrone criminal underworld.
On Friday, the Irish News reported that Mr Heagney had been living out of his car for several weeks before he went missing, and “feared he was going to be killed” in the weeks before his disappearance. The Irish News also reported that he had come to the attention of republicans in the past, and had once been ‘arrested’ by the Provos following an incident in Coalisland, leading him to be ordered out of Tyrone.
It is understood concerns have been raised relating to why the police did not launch an investigation into his disappearance sooner. Although he was not reported as missing until 19th July, it is believed the PSNI had concerns about his whereabouts from January 2022.
Speaking to the Sunday World, a source in Cookstown said:
“Neighbours started getting worried when he hadn’t been seen and post was building up at his door.
“Damien had issues and was well known to the police. Police were made aware of concerns he hadn’t been seen and there were a number of red flags like his failure to turn up at welfare meetings and missing court dates back in June.”
Police were contacted as early as January but didn’t escalate the investigation.
“A simple check of his ATM use or his social media and mobile phone use would have raised an alarm with them had they checked,” the source said.
The last message the keen supporter of Tyrone GAA posted to his Facebook account dates back to 6 December.
On Wednesday, while confirming they had located the Tyrone man’s car, police also identified a white Citroen Berlingo van with a registration number LM58 UVW as a vehicle of interest in their investigation.
Mr Heagney is the third person to have vanished from the Cookstown area who is believed to have been murdered.
Daron McReynolds from Coagh in Co Tyrone went missing in 2001 and has never been found. He is believed to have been involved in the drugs and trade and cigarette smuggling and had international links. In July 2006, a murder investigation was launched and two men were questioned, however, nobody has been brought to justice and searches between Cookstown and Omagh failed to find his remains.
In February 2007, Cookstown man Gerard Conway went missing, and a murder probe was launched in August that year “as a result of information received”. While his family offered a £100,000 reward in an attempt to find him, he has never been found.
A spokesperson for the PSNI said that the police are not linking the investigation into the murder of Damien Heagney “with any other incident” for the time being.