‘More must be done to f ind our missing loved ones’
THE father of missing woman Deirdre Jacob has called for more resources to be dedicated to investigating the cases of missing people in Ireland – as he labelled the current system ‘hit and miss’.
Speaking on behalf of relatives of missing people, Michael Jacob, whose daughter Deirdre would now be 38 years old, said: ‘There is only so much that we can do. We need help.’
He was addressing the fifth annual event marking National Missing Persons Day at Farmleigh in Dublin’s Phoenix Park yesterday.
The search for missing people is currently the responsibility of the Missing Persons Bureau, which is staffed by a sergeant, a garda and a civilian.
It co-ordinates with gardaí at local level under the supervision of the local superintendent.
Addressing Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan, who was present at yesterday’s event, Mr Jacob said: ‘You are looking at a very small group of people that have had a life-changing and lifeshattering happening visited on them by a family member going missing.’
Appealing for greater assistance, he said: ‘The help required is sufficient resources made available to An Garda Síochána, so you, Deputy Commissioner John Twomey [also present], can put in place a full-time, dedicated team of determined investigators to investigate the missing; a team that will engage with the families in a sympathetic, sensitive and inclusive manner.’
Mr Jacob said there are many cases of people missing for long periods, ‘with little or no progress being made – all because of a hitand-miss practice of investigation due, in the main, to lack of resources’.
He added: ‘I plead with you both [Minister Flanagan and Deputy Commissioner Twomey] to implement a new approach in the investigation of the missing.
‘When times pass in a missing case, that is probably left to the determination of a single garda – that is if he or she is left in that area. And this is not good enough.’
Deirdre Jacob went missing on July 28, 1998, aged 18. She left her home at noon and walked into nearby Newbridge, Co. Kildare, to visit her grandmother.
She later walked home, and was last seen at 3.30pm at the gateway of her house. She never made it to the doorway.
Mr Flanagan paid tribute to all of the families of missing persons, saying: ‘This is a really important event where we acknowledge the pain and suffering of many families who are feeling the loss of a missing loved
‘There’s only so much we can do’
one. This is an opportunity to reflect on the circumstances of the missing person and how we can do more to uncover a vital piece of evidence that might assist the gardaí.’
Dozens of relatives of missing persons attended the event. They included Alice Cairns, whose 13-year-old son Philip went missing while walking to school in south Dublin on October 23, 1986.