IT has been 100 days since machete thug Jonathan Kelly went on the run.

 

Despite a massive manhunt - spanning the entire country - and a string of high-profile appeals, police have so far failed to track him down.

Police are working "round the clock" to find him, but admit they are relying on the eyes of the public to alert them to the whereabouts of the serial offender.

There has not been a single sighting of Kelly, 34, since he went on the run on ­September 10.

And police have been forced to admit that, 100 days on, they are no closer to catching the fugitive.

One source close to the investigation said: "It's almost unheard of for someone to completely drop off the radar like this, there hasn't been a single sighting for months.

"But Kelly will have found a bolthole early on and has stayed there. It's easy to disappear if you want to."

The Evening Times understands violent Kelly had breached one of his 32 strict release conditions and was set to be returned to jail - for at least another decade.

He faced a long stretch, with no release until 2024 at the earliest.

It is believed he then cut off his electronic monitoring tag before he went on the run.

Despite some insiders' suspicions Kelly, from Drumchapel, is dead, the detective leading the hunt for him believes he is still alive.

In a direct appeal to Kelly, Detective Superintendent Stevie Grant of Greater Glasgow Division CID said: "You may feel that you have been portrayed incorrectly.

"However you have this opportunity to set the record straight."

A team is continuing to try to flush out Kelly, who uses a number of aliases including Donald Cameron, John Kerr, and Jonathan Donnelly.

Serial criminal Kelly - who has a horrific record of violent offences - has spent most of his life in jail.

He was free for less than three weeks before going on the run.

Mr Grant believes Kelly - Scotland's most wanted man - is receiving help top evade police from a network of associates.

He urged anyone helping Kelly to give him up.

Mr Grant said: "Consider the additional pressure harbouring Mr Kelly will place on you and your family as time goes on, and you come to the attention of the police.

"I would discourage the general public from approaching him or engaging with him as he prefers to spend time on his own.

"A number of police officers continue to work on this inquiry with assistance by specialist colleagues from within our organisation.

"And we are assisted by colleagues in other law enforcement agencies across the UK.

"I would advise people not to approach him but to contact police if they see him - any sightings should be reported to police or give your information to Crimestoppers."

Kelly is believed to be armed and it is understood that because of this risk firearms officers will be drafted in as soon as he is spotted.

Police are understood to have visited several properties where they thought Kelly could be hiding, but he has continued to give them the slip.

Armed police responded to a reported sighting of him and sealed off part of Boyd Street in Govanhill.

But following a day-long armed siege, the thug was nowhere to be found.

Another insider said: "Kelly is a dangerous man and needs to be caught.

"When Kelly is tracked down is when he will pose the biggest threat."

Kelly has been named on Crimestoppers' hit list of dangerous criminals on the run.

The crime charity are offering a £5000 reward for any information which leads to his arrest.

Kelly has a string of convictions for violence and has previously boasted about the machete attack.

The Evening Times previously revealed that Kelly was acquitted of nine charges at the High Court in Glasgow on August 21.