A Galway man who had been missing in Malaysia since the beginning of the year, has been found safe and well.

Stephen Warde from Kinvara was reported missing in the first week of January.

This morning, he was reunited with his mother and his brother in Kuala Lumpar.

His disappearance on New Years Day was described as extremely out of character.

Mr Warde’s case led to extensive appeals for information both on social media and on the ground in Malaysia, where his family travelled to try and find him.

Earlier this month, his mother Mary Morrissey made a televised appeal for anyone with information on her son's whereabouts to contact the Malaysian authorities.

The search effort bore fruit when Mr Warde was reunited with his family today.

The reasons behind the disappearance are still unclear.

When contacted by RTÉ News, a private investigator who had been working on the case in Malaysia would not comment on where Mr Warde had been for the last eight weeks or how he was found.

The investigator, Mr Eddy, was hired by the Warde family to chase up any leads in the search in recent weeks.

It is understood Mr Warde was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure this afternoon and was given a clean bill of health by doctors.

Since his disappearance, thousands of Euro have been raised around south Co Galway, as part of an appeal to cover the search costs.

The Warde family has thanked people for the financial and emotional support provided to them.

His sister Aoife said finding Stephen was safe and well was a huge relief, after two months of worry.