Police in Northern Ireland are searching for convicted murderer Gary Anderson, who failed to return to prison after being granted day release.

Anderson, 29, was on release from Maghaberry prison on Monday 14 September 2026. He has not returned to custody or been apprehended, according to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

Anderson was sentenced in 2023 to a minimum of 15 years for the murder of Karol Kelly in Derry in 2018. His brother Sean Anderson received a 17-year minimum sentence for the same killing.

Mr Kelly died after being stabbed multiple times during an altercation in Grafton Street in the early hours of 4 March 2018. He had gone to the Anderson brothers' home with another man and attacked them; the brothers then chased and killed him.

The PSNI has appealed directly to Anderson to hand himself in. They advise the public not to approach him but to contact police on 101, quoting reference 555 of 14/09/26. Information can also be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Anderson is described as approximately 5 feet 11 inches tall, of slim build, with brown hair. He has a scar on his right hand and a tattoo of a smiley face on his left ankle.

Reports indicate that Anderson had been on hunger strike earlier this year over being separated from his brother, who is held at Magilligan prison. He was moved to Maghaberry, Northern Ireland's only maximum-security jail, last year.