Omagh family plea to missing son

Kevin Skelton is worried about his missing son

A man whose wife was killed in the Omagh bombing has issued a plea to his missing son to get in touch.

Kevin Skelton, whose wife Philomena died in the 1998 explosion, said it was the latest in a series of traumatic events to hit the family.

Raymond Skelton went missing seven weeks ago after a shopping trip to Omagh.

But his family received an unsigned card a few days before Christmas and they believe it was from Raymond.

The family believes this card was from their son.

The family believes he has been staying at an address in the Old Marylebone Road area.

'Media attention'

Kevin and his three daughters are wondering how Raymond is coping.

"It's very hard to know what's going through his head, especially since his mummy died," said Mr Skelton.

"Maybe he feels that he was left out. The whole media attention was on myself and the three girls because we were in Omagh the time the bomb went off."

He pleaded for his son to make contact and let the family know he is safe.

"That's all I'm asking. Just to ring me, tell me where he is.

"That's all I want to know that he's all right, that he's not sleeping rough or something like that. Ring his da, that's all I'm asking," he said.

The 1998 Real IRA bombing of Omagh town centre was the worst single atrocity in the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

It claimed the lives of 29 people, including a woman who was seven months pregnant with twins.