Kidnapped woman still missing as gardai shoot suspect dead

Abducted: Jastine Valdez THE suspect in the abduction of Jastine Valdez was shot dead by gardai during an operation in south Dublin last night as a major search for the missing woman continued.

A massive manhunt was carried out for the 40-year-old married father-of-two from Bray after the 24-year-old student was abducted on a roadway in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on Saturday evening.

The large-scale investigation was carried out throughout yesterday until shortly after 8pm, when Mark Hennessy was located at a car park in Cherrywood.

It is understood that a standoff ensued between the suspect and gardai, during which he produced a weapon, believed to be a knife. He was then shot by a detective.

Jastine had still not been located last night by investigating gardai as concerns mounted for the young woman.

Detectives believe that Hennessy abducted Ms Valdez in a random attack. He was not previously known to police and had no connections to the victim.

“This appears to be a random abduction and there were no obvious connections between him and the missing woman,” a source said.

“Gardai investigating the disappearance of Ms Valdez interacted with the driver of a vehicle at approximately 8pm on May 20, 2018 in the Cherrywood area of Dublin.

“An official Garda firearm was discharged. The incident has been referred to GSOC as per protocol,” a Garda spokesperson said.

Jastine and her parents, who are from the Phillippines, have been living in Ireland for the past three years.

A student at Tallaght IT, Jastine had got off a bus in Enniskerry on Saturday evening and was walking home along Kilcroney Road, near the Powerscourt estate, when a Qashqai pulled alongside. The driver assaulted her, pulled her into the vehicle and then drove off at high speed.

A woman and her young family spotted the incident as they walked home at 6.30pm and alerted the police.