Gary Shearer went missing in Lanzarote in 2023.
The devastated family of a Celtic fan who went missing in Lanzarote two years ago will return to the island in a desperate bid for answers.
Gary Shearer’s mum Ann McMurray and niece Darcie Deeney will go to the Canary Islands for two weeks on Thursday.
Gary, from Renfrew, was 53 when he vanished just hours after arriving in the country alone to celebrate St Patrick’s Day on 16 March 2023. His family still have no idea what happened to him.
Darcie, 26, told The Record: “We just felt it was time. Deep down, we knew he was never coming back, but it takes a long time to accept that. This is the only way we can try to get some sort of closure.
“We’ll go across Lanzarote and the other islands. It’s going to be a lot, but we just want justice for Gary. Our family deserves to know what happened to him.
“We just hope this appeal will refresh someone’s memory and bring us some information so the police will reopen the case. Just one small detail could be the missing puzzle piece.
“It’s all up to us, so we just want as much publicity as possible to get Gary’s name out there and make sure people on the island hear what our family has gone through.”
Gary arrived at the Oasis Apartments in Puerto Del Carmen and sent his family a poolside photo. After securing some belongings in his hotel safe, he took €70 and headed out.
At 5:30pm, he texted his mum saying he was going to Bar 67. He wore a Celtic top, white shorts, white trainers with blue and yellow trim and a black man bag.
CCTV later captured him unconscious in a doorway near the bar at 1:30 am. Concerned family members reported him missing when he failed to return for his flight to Scotland. Police found his passport, bank card, travel money, and diabetes medication in his hotel room, but his phone was never recovered or used again.
Months later, Spanish police released footage of Gary walking with an unidentified man outside a Spar shop. Despite investigations, the man was never identified.
In June 2024, police closed the case, telling the Shearer family they had “exhausted all leads.”
Darcie, who runs the Find Gary Shearer social media page, will be travelling to Lanzarote for the first time to see the place where her uncle vanished.
She said: “I think it’s the only way his mum can cope and where she feels closest to Gary.”
The Shearer family were only recently able to clear out Gary’s flat in Renfrew following a painful journey of grief.
She added: “Gary lived right opposite my nana so they were very close and she’s had to face his home being in front of her window every day since this tragedy happened.
“It’s been so difficult sorting out his affairs when authorities ask for records, but we literally have nothing to provide. All we know is that he is missing.
“We’d love to give him a send-off, but it just doesn’t seem real when we still don’t have any answers.
“We receive a huge number of messages of support. People have shown such kindness and want answers as much as we do.”