If you know anything about the disappearnce of Jón Jónsson, please contact your local Garda station or email documentaries@rte.ie or hvarerjon@ruv.is in the strictest of confidence.
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On the morning of February 9th 2019, 41 year old Icelander, Jón Jónsson left the Bonnington hotel in Dublin, turned right onto a busy road, lit a cigarette and vanished. 24 hours earlier, Jón had arrived in Ireland for the first time.
Within days of his disappearance, Jón's family flew to Ireland to begin searching for him but almost six years later, no trace has ever been found of him.
Jón had travelled to Ireland to play at the Dublin Poker Festival and to do some sightseeing with his partner Jana, who arrived on the morning Jón disappeared.
Jana arrived at the Bonnington hotel just after 10am on the morning of Jón’s disappearance to find him asleep in their hotel bedroom with his empty wallet on the bedside locker. She showered, they had a quick conversation, and then she left the room at 11am to smoke a cigarette outside, stopping by the hotel bar for a cup of coffee. Just a few minutes later, Jón walked out of the hotel leaving his phone, wallet and passport behind.
Jón was then seen on CCTV 7 minutes later, about 500 metres from the hotel, walking on the footpath of the busy Swords road – the last known sighting of Jón.
In the days and weeks that followed, Jón’s disappearance became an international news story, including in Iceland and Ireland. However, no leads were discovered and after several months of non-stop searching, Jón’s family made the heart-breaking decision to return home to Iceland.
Over the following number of years, Jón’s family occasionally returned to Ireland but Jón’s story largely slipped from the limelight despite his family never giving up hope that they’d one day discover what happened to Jón.
18 months ago, the public broadcasters of RÚV (Iceland) and RTÉ (Ireland) came together to investigate Jón’s story. With exclusive access to Jón’s family and others involved in this story, they’ve made every attempt to unearth new information. In February 2024, a major development took place when on foot of anonymous correspondence, An Garda Síóchana undertook a search for Jón’s remains in Santry Park Demense, Dublin assisted by cadaver dogs. Sadly, there was no trace of him.
However, the search for Jón goes on as we track down previously unknown and unpublished information and try to find out what happened to Jón.
Ultimately one thing is clear: someone, somewhere knows something.
Credits: Where is Jón? is written, reported and produced by Liam O’Brien and Anna Marsibil Clausen. Original music soundtrack is performed and composed by Úlfur Eldjárn, with special guest Unnur Jónsdóttir on cello. Sound design is by Peadar Carney. Production assistance from Johannes Olafsson, Þorgerður E. Sigurðardóttir and the RTÉ Documentary On One team. Audio Product Support by Nigel Wheatley. Marketing by Amy O’Driscoll, Maria Buckley and Kolbrún Vaka Helgadóttir. Designer and creatives by John Kilkenny and Darragh Treacy. Publicity by Jilly McDonough. Sales by Graeme Bailey and Einar Logi. Additional online editorial content by Anna Joyce.
Episodes released weekly, each Monday.