Police reveal details of tragic Irish student’s final hours with friends before he suffered fatal injuries in a fall as he walked back to his hotel in the dark
- Andrew O’Donnell was tragically found dead on Sunday on Greek island of Ios
- Max Wall, also 18, collapsed and himself died shortly after hearing the news
Details of the final hours of a Dublin student who died in a fall on the holiday island of Ios have been pieced together by Greek police.
Andrew O’Donnell, 18, had been socialising with friends at a series of venues throughout the evening before finally deciding to call it a night at 1.30am.
It was when he then tried to find his way back to his hotel digs alone in the dark that he appears to have lost his way and fallen on rocky ground within sight of the hotel.
Andrew’s friend and schoolmate Max Wall, also 18, had helped to search for him in the hours before his body was found the following day. Max then collapsed and himself died shortly after hearing news that Andrew had been found dead.
The full details of Andrew’s evening out that preceded this double tragedy have now emerged in a police report based on interviews with numerous witnesses.
Details of the final hours of Dublin student Andrew O’Donnell (left) who died in a fall on the holiday island of Ios last weekend have been pieced together by Greek police. Andrew’s friend and schoolmate Max Wall, also 18 (right), tragically died hours after O’Donnell was found
Andrew had been socialising with friends at a series of venues throughout the evening before finally deciding to call it a night at 1.30am. It was when he then tried to find his way back to his hotel digs alone in the dark that he appears to have lost his way and fallen on rocky ground (pictured) within sight of the hotel
The police report describes the Dublin group arriving on Ios at around 2pm on 30 June. Andrew was staying at the Homer’s Inn hotel (pictured) where he was sharing a room with Senan Henry, also 18
The investigation has found that Andrew had gone out to socialise within hours of arriving on the Greek Island – a magnet for young people who want to celebrate events like finishing high school, as Andrew and Max just had – last Friday.
READ MORE: Together in life and death: Families of Irish teenagers who died on Greek holiday island reveal their funerals will be held at the same Dublin church
Andrew and Max were among 70 pupils from St Michael’s College Dublin who had gone to Ios to celebrate the end of their secondary school education.
The group were booked to stay across several separate hotels as their number attending meant they could not find a single one to accommodate the whole group.
The police report describes the Dublin group arriving on Ios at around 2pm on 30 June. Andrew was staying at the Homer’s Inn hotel where he was sharing a room with Senan Henry, also 18.
After settling in the pair then caught a bus together to Milopatas Beach at around 7pm to start their evening out.
Andrew and Senan went first to the FarOut Beach Club, a popular venue amongst youngsters holidaying in Ios, arriving shortly before 8pm.
The two stayed there until 10pm and then decided to walk to Disco 69, described as the ‘hottest’ night spot in Ios.
It is located on a strip in Hora, the island’s main town, where it is one of several bars and clubs on a strip that are popular with youngsters and usually busy until the early hours of the morning.
The report states: ‘At 23.00 they arrived at the town where they went to Disco 69 for entertainment and consumed alcohol. Senan reported to us that his friend Andrew left on foot for the accommodation where they were staying.’
According to the report, Andrew was reported missing to Greek police by Senan on Saturday morning – with the official time of his disappearance given as 3am on 1 July, just over 12 hours after he arrived in Ios.
Flowers are seen placed near to the spot where Andrew’s body was found on Sunday
That was the last time his mobile phone showed his location and it showed that Andrew was close to the Homer’s Inn hotel.
It’s believed he may have slipped and fallen after getting lost as he tried to make his way back on foot across rough ground – within sight of the hotel.
His body was finally found at around 1pm on Sunday 2 July in bushes on a rocky slope that overlooks the Homer’s Inn.
The report states: ‘He [Senan] reported that at 03.00 on 01-07-2023 it appears in the search application of his mobile phone that O’Donnell Andrew of Gavin was outside the Homers Inn Hotel. Since then he lost track of him and lost contact with him.’
The police report also notes that Andrew’s father Gavin called Ios police station himself on the night of 1 July from his home in Dublin and also reported the disappearance of his son, leaving his phone number for officers to keep him updated of any news.
Panos Gkikakis, manager of the Homer’s Inn hotel, told MailOnline that he was on duty when Senan returned without Andrew after their night out.
He said: ‘He just asked for a spare key for the room they were sharing because they only had one and it was with Andrew.
‘He told me that they had got separated but he was going to bed because he was sure Andrew would arrive soon because his location showed that he was nearby.
‘It wasn’t until the following morning that we all started to worry. That night I went with his friends to the top of the slope where Andrew was eventually found to look for him. But it was dark and we didn’t see anything.
Friends of the two Irish students are seen forming a guard of honour on the island of Ios earlier in the week as the bodies of their two friends left the Greek island
‘It’s very sad to think that he was lying there for so long but was so close to us.’
The final results of post-mortems on both Andrew and Max are not expected for another ten days but Greek sources have indicated that Andrew died from a fall from a height in which he suffered concussion to the brain.
Max it is believed to have had an existing heart condition which may have contributed to his death.
A medical source in Ios said: ‘We are awaiting the full results of the toxicological analysis which is being carried out by specialists at the University of Crete.’
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