Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

Jonathan Spollen is 28 years old, six feet tall and from Ireland. He was last seen on 3 February 2012 in Rishikesh in the region of Uttarakhand in northern India. Mr. Spollen works as a writer and editor for the International Herald Tribune in Hong Kong. His father, David Green, and some family and friends visited the Rishikesh area to search for Jonathan, while his mother, Lynda Spollen, is co-ordinating all efforts here.

The picture that has emerged is that Jonathan was mostly travelling in the Rishikesh area in January 2012, near the German bakery area. He was on a trek from 14 to 28 January. His trip to India was recreational and he had previously been travelling with a friend. He came back from this trek with a tummy bug and a slight limp after a tumble near a waterfall.

Jonathan's Indian visa would have expired on 21 February 2012, which is relevant, given that as a journalist working abroad he would have been conscious of ensuring that his visa situation would not be prejudiced by passing the expiry date. His last telephone call home was in the early morning, Indian time, of 3 February 2012. He had at that time been planning to go to Delhi but had changed his mind and seemed to be intent on going on another trek in the Rishikesh region. Communications with his family had been good up to that point. He indicated he would be gone for two to three weeks, but he did say that he would be in touch with his mother in two weeks' time. Jonathan has not contacted his family since then and in late February, his mother and father raised the alarm with local authorities, the Irish Embassy in India and with family and friends.

Around 11 March 2012, some of Jonathan's belongings were found by a small waterfall halfway up the road to Phool Chatti, nearby Rishikesh. It looks like he was camping there. This has meant that the authorities have given more priority to the search. However, any further diplomatic efforts will no doubt ensure that maximum resources and skill are devoted to this effort. Among his belongings found were his backpack, containing travel documents, a book and the usual things one would expect such as shampoo, basic medicines for upset stomach, headache, and so on. On investigation at the location, the police also found his sleeping bag and some clothes.

On 12 March 2012, another confirmed sighting of Jonathan emerged since the conversation he had with his mother on 3 February. He was in Lakshman Jhula, Rishikesh, between 12 and 14 Feb 2012, where he spoke with a lady for some time as they were both reading the same book, Shantaram. They discussed the book and generally chatted but the conversation did not turn to anything that may be relevant to the search.

Numbers far beyond what the local police force could be expected to provide are required here. Volunteers are needed and fund-raising efforts are being co-ordinated from Ireland. The Minister of State may have seen posters for table quizzes and other events happening in and around Dublin, as well as much activity online. Anything the Minister of State and the Government can do at the highest level would be incredibly helpful here. As time goes by, these things always become more difficult for everybody involved. If we can help in some way to keep up the sustained effort until we can find Jonathan and bring some news for his family, that would be incredibly important. His family needs our help in this matter urgently.

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