'Please help us find our missing dad': family's plea

The distraught family of a missing Navan resident have issued a desperate appealing for information on his whereabouts. Tony McLoughlin, a 57-year-old married man and father-of-two, was last seen on Monday 16th January at 1.15pm near Johnstown Shopping Centre. His daughter, Lisa, said that his disappearance is "totally out of character" and that Tony, who works in catering in the Dublin area and lives at Athlumney Abbey, had been on antibiotics for a respiratory condition at the time he went missing and had been due to visit a specialist about it. Mr McLoughlin had recently collapsed on holiday and had pneumonia and his daughter said the medication he was on made him groggy and sometimes disorientated. "He got quite groggy and confused about (his daughter) Sophia's birthday, which was the day after he was last seen. I've never seen him confused like that before - he's a young man," said Lisa. Mr McLoughlin is a keen dog-walker and would often walk the banks of the Boyne, at the Ramparts and near the IDA business park in Johnstown. "Sophia's 30th was the day after. He would never let that go by without saying 'happy birthday', at least. It's just very, very out of character for someone so dependable and reliable. "The last few days before (he was last seen), his breathing was very bad but he must have gotten a burst of adrenalin and gone for a walk," she added. "He was frustrated at being cooped up and wanted to go outside. When there was no sign of him, we started to worry and mum got in the car and went one direction and my aunt got in hers and went in the other direction and we rang around. "One of mum's friend's daughters saw him at 1.15pm at the shopping centre and they noticed each other but she said he was walking slowly and was hunched," recalled Lisa. On Monday 23rd January, Gardaí set up checkpoints in the Johnstown area to ask motorists around Johnstown Shopping Centre about Tony's disappearance in the hope that they might be regularly in the area on a Monday lunchtime. The story appeared on TV3's Breakfast Show that morning and gardaí received a few calls as a result - one of which suggested that the missing man had been seen on a bus going from Navan to Kells. Unfortunately, the person who contacted gardaí proved to be mistaken as, when gardaí stopped the bus, they found a man only with similar features to Mr McLoughlin. The missing man is described as 5'6" in height, of slim build with grey hair. When last seen, he was wearing blue jeans, a blue shirt and a brown, waist-length jacket. Leaflet appeals have been made in various locations - Navan, Dunboyne, Clonee, Tallaght, Dundalk and Drogheda - for any information relating to his disappearance. "We're just trying to keep positive and keep hopeful," added Lisa. So far, Meath River Rescue, Meath Civil Defence, the Boyne Fishermens Rescue and Recovery Service and local gardaí all have been involved in searches along the Boyne - from Old Kilcarn Bridge towards The Ramparts in Navan. Tony McLoughlin's family have expressed their gratitude to all groups so far involved in the search. Gardaí say they are concerned for Mr McLoughlin's safety and anyone with information is asked to contact Navan Garda Station on (046) 907 9930, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any garda station.