An Irish man who had been missing for 18 years was found dead on the bottom of Lough Erne after a local fisherman saw a “strange form” on his sonar device, according to the evidence presented at the inquest.
After going missing in January 2002, the remains of digger driver Michael Anthony Lynch was discovered in his vehicle in County Fermanagh in May 2020.

In February 2020, a shape appeared near Corradillar Quay in Lisnaskea when a diving company director was utilising specialised equipment on the lake, according to the Irish Mirror.

The man claimed to have been using “specialised side-imaging sonar,” which produces 3D views of anything laying on the bottom, in a statement read to the coroner’s court convening at Laganside in Belfast on Wednesday (June 22).

He said: “I observed an odd thing on the lough bed that I assumed might have been a car when I was around 25 metres away from Corradillar Quay slipway.

“I had planned to return and take a closer look, but work kept me from arriving as soon as I’d hoped.

“On May 16, 2020, I encountered a garda while out fishing and indicated the potential existence of a car to him because I was aware they were searching for a missing individual and a car in Lough Erne.

He was able to lead authorities to the scene, and on May 18 Lynch’s remains were discovered inside the automobile.

Tony, the missing man, was located thanks to dental records, and he was officially declared dead on May 20.

The inquest heard how the father-of-four had last been seen alive at a hotel bar in Clones on January 6, 2002, after he had moved out of the Magheraveely family home in November 2001, to a flat in Clones, in order to deal with his alcohol problem.

A PSNI officer said that the car’s location, about 20 metres from the quay’s edge, showed that it had entered the sea quickly.

Coroner Anne-Louise Toal determined that Mr. Lynch had drowned after driving into the river, noting that the deceased had a history of despair and bad mood that were likely brought on by drinking too much.

“I conclude that on January 6 or the early hours of January 7, 2002, Michael Anthony Lynch, who had just left the family home, was depressed and had alcoholism problems when he sped into the ocean in his car near Corradillar Quay.

“I conclude that Mr. Lynch died by his own act on the basis of the balance of probabilities.”

She claimed that a medical cause of death had not been established because of the considerable amount of time that had passed between his passing and the discovery of his body.