Without A Trace: The Strange Case Of Jón Þröstur Jónsson

For over two weeks at the time of this writing, Jón Þröstur Jónsson has been missing. Disappearances in Iceland are uncommon enough—police records showing only 120 Icelanders have gone missing since 1945—but Jón disappeared in Dublin, Ireland. This fact is one of very few known so far in this case.

Irish and British media have been diligently reporting on the matter, in part with the hope that someone will recognise Jón man and come forth with information that could lead to finding him. Icelandic media has also been reporting on any leads, but information remains scant and the circumstances leading up to his disappearance have only raised new questions.

What we know

We know that Jón arrived in Dublin on February 8th, with his fiancee, Kristjana Guðjónsdóttir, arriving the next day. The two had booked a 10-day stay in Dublin that included a three-day poker tournament. Jón had lost some money playing poker on Friday, reportedly in the area of €4,000. This, his brother Daníel has assured reporters, is not a great deal of money to lose. The motivation for this caveat is because of where the trail runs cold.

Shortly after Kristjana arrived at their hotel room, the two reportedly had a conversation. He then left without his passport, wallet or phone. The last trace of him so far is CCTV footage of Jón leaving the hotel and then walking north up Swords Road.

That is where Jón’s whereabouts enter the unknown.

What we don’t know

There has been no activity on Jón’s bank accounts since his disappearance. The press has been diligent to share his image, and family members have spoken repeatedly to the press in the hopes that someone watching might be able to point authorities in the right direction.

Those who know him consider it unlikely that he did something drastic, and they also contend it is unlikely that his poker losses provoked his flight. As it stands now, there are no new leads in the case. All his loved ones can do is keep Jón in the conversation and wait.