Garda watchdog GSOC seeks witnesses in appeal over death of Craig Gifford (21)

Finglas man Craig Gifford (21) was last seen in the River Road area between Tolka Valley Park and Blanchardstown at around 2.30pm on Wednesday.

Reports say gardaí tried to stop him but he ran away.

His body was found on Saturday afternoon in undergrowth in the direction he went running.

Because Mr Gifford had an interaction with gardaí prior to being reported missing and being found dead, the matter was referred by gardaí to the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC).

While gardaí are awaiting the results of the post-mortem they do not believe Mr Gifford suffered a violent death. The results of the post mortem will also dictate the course of the investigation.

Today GSOC issued an appeal saying it would like to speak to any witnesses who observed “a traffic collision near the junction of River Road and Dunsink Lane in Dublin on the afternoon of Wednesday April 20”.

“GSOC would also welcome the provision of any CCTV, dashcam or mobile footage witnesses may have captured,” the appeal added.

The referral was made under Section 102(1) of the 2005 Garda Síochána Act, which provides for independent investigation of any matter that appears to indicate that the conduct of a member of the Garda may have resulted in the death of, or serious harm to, a person.

A spokesman for GSOC said no further comment could be made as the matter is under examination, and would not elaborate on the details of the type of collision that occurred.

Anyone with information which may be of assistance to the investigation is asked to contact GSOC at 0818 600 800 or info@gsoc.ie.