Kidnapped Property Tycoon Kevin McGeever 'Given Death Day Notes'

The kidnapped Irish property tycoon Kevin McGeever was given notes by his captors telling him when they would kill him.

Brendan McGeever, the 68-year-old's brother, said Kevin was regularly passed notes saying he would be killed in a few days.

Speaking to the John Murray Show on RTE Radio 1, Brendan said: "Everything with his captors was written down. They wrote down everything.

"They handed him paper to write on. Their faces were covered. He just could see their eyes.

"He was given written notes and they would say, 'You have two more days to live'.

"They put a gun to his forehead one time and he said, 'Alright, do it now. I have made my peace with my God. I am ready'.

"That happened quite a few times, it wasn't just the once."

Police are currently investigating Kevin McGeever's disappearance, but commissioner Martin Callinan said it is still "early days".

He was found wandering confused and emaciated on a country road near Ballinamore in County Leitrim on 29 January.

He had a long beard and fingernails and was not wearing shoes. McGeever said he had been thrown from a van by armed men.

According to reports, he had the word thief carved into his forehead - his brother said his forehead was covered when he visited him in Mullingar hospital.

Held somewhere in Ireland

Kevin McGeever told police that he had been held in a shipping container for eight months, was fed one sandwich per day and was beaten regularly.

His brother told RTE that he did not know if McGeever was in financial trouble when he was abducted, but said he did not think the Russian mafia was involved, as had been reported.

"What he said about where he had been I wouldn't want to tell over the air, but he was held somewhere in Ireland," he said.

"When he realised he was being dropped off he was thrown into the back of a van.

"He was dumped on the side of a road in Ballinamore. He didn't know where he was. They gave him a telephone with one number on it. When he pressed to operate this number, no signal came up.

"He was trying to walk and he couldn't. He somehow scrambled on to the road and a car came along.

"He didn't say anything about his captors. We didn't go into that."

Police are currently looking into text messages sent to Siobhan O'Callaghan, McGeever's partner, in the days after his disappearance.

They were sent from mobile networks in Germany and the UK and reassured O'Callaghan he was well.

They said: "I'm sorry I have to leave, I'll make it up to you when I get back."