Dean Patton went missing on July 25, 2012

Police in Coleraine have this week re-issued an appeal for information for the missing 24-year-old, who was a popular figure in the seaside town.

Dean, who at the time had just moved out of his parents home’ into his own property, was last seen on the evening of Wednesday, July 25, 2012, close to the Eglinton Hotel in Portrush.

Speaking exclusively to The Coleraine Times this week, Detective Inspector Stewart said that police enquiries were ‘still on going’.

“It is now coming up to three years since Dean went missing.

“This has obviously been a very tough time for his family and friends,” said the Inspector.

“Police enquiries are still ongoing, and we remain in contact with Dean’s family.”

In the week’s after Dean went missing extensive land and sea searches were carried out, many of Dean’s friend and family helped.

And, in a first for Northern Ireland, special drones were brought in to help scour the area’s coastline, but they failed to uncover any clues about the missing 24-year-old.

Despite the extensive searches and a £10,000 reward for information, Dean’s whereabouts are still a mystery.

Dean is described as being around 6ft tall, with dark hair and a tanned complexion.

He was wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans on the day he was last seen.

Dean’s mother Linda Patton last spoke to her son two days before he went missing. At the time she said that she didn’t sense anything unusual or untoward from the conversation.