Gsoc investigating case of missing man found dead in Finglas, Dublin

A man whose body was discovered in north Dublin days after he was reported missing is believed to have been in a car gardaí tried to bring to a halt before he disappeared.

The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) is investigating the case after Garda Headquarters referred the matter to the complaints agency.

The remains of 21-year-old Finglas man Craig Gifford were found in the River Road area of Ashtown on Saturday afternoon and the missing person's search for him was stood down.

Gardaí are awaiting the results of a postmortem to determine the cause of Mr Gifford’s death and whether there was any third party involvement, which is not suspected at this stage.

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Mr Gifford is understood to have been in a car on Wednesday afternoon in Finglas which gardaí tried, unsuccessfully, to stop. It is unclear where Mr Gifford went after that incident.

Gsoc has now issued an appeal for information about Mr Gifford's last known movements, specifically a traffic collision near the junction of River Road and Dunsink Lane in the Finglas area last Wednesday afternoon.

“Gsoc would also welcome the provision of any CCTV, dashcam or mobile footage witnesses may have captured,” it said in a statement on Sunday, confirming it was now investigating the case.

Mr Gifford’s family last saw him on Wednesday when he left his home in Finglas and when they were unable to contact him, they became concerned for his welfare and reported him missing to the Garda.

A public appeal was made urging anyone who saw Mr Gifford to contact gardaí and a description of him and the clothes he was wearing when he left home, was circulated.

However, that appeal came to nothing and Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin, confirmed his body had been found on Saturday. It added as he had interacted with gardaí before he disappeared, the case had been referred to Gsoc for examination.

Gsoc investigates complaints made by members of the public against gardaí. It also investigates the death of any person who has died or suffered injury at or around the time they were in contact with Garda members, including those who have been in custody or have had a more casual interaction with Garda members.

The Garda is legally obliged to refer cases to Gsoc if they become aware a person has died or suffered injury around the time they have been in contact with members of the force, even if that contact was not directly linked the circumstances of their death or the injury they suffered.