'I felt so sorry for her' – Ex-cop in heart wrenching apology for failing to find missing teen as he admits 'we did try' | KMW003E | 2024-05-01 00:08:01
A FORMER detective has said he apologises to Ciara Breen for not finding her remains.
Ciara, 17, vanished from her home in Dundalk on February 13, 1997, after sneaking out a window to meet someone.
No trace of her has ever been found and her uncle James Coburn said it has "cast a shadow over the family".
Det Insp Pat Marry took over the missing person's case in 2014 and upgraded it to murder.
The following year, after two witnesses came forward with information pointing to Balmer's Bog in Dundalk, an excavation took place.
But no trace of the missing Louth teen was found.
Retired Marry said: "Poor Ciara, oh my God. I pulled out the stops to solve that one.
"I felt so sorry for the girl and the more I investigated the more I found out about her personally and I just felt sorry for her. And I wanted to find her."
He told new TG4 documentary Ar Iarraidh: "To think that Ciara's lying here some place gives me an eerie feeling.
"I find myself apologising to her for not finding her. But we did try, we did try our best."
On the day she went missing, she and her mother had food in the Roma in Dundalk, before they returned home to watch TV.
That night, she snuck out the sitting room window and as soon as her mother realised, she sat waiting to greet her when she snuck back in.
But mum Bernadette was unaware that Ciara would not come back home and the next day, she would be diagnosed with cancer.
There were rumours at the time that Ciara was in a relationship with her neighbour Liam Mullen, who was in his 30s, and he may have taken her.
Marry said Mullen used to bring her for walks and take her out drinking in her school uniform.
Witnesses claimed the two had met up in a laneway and then went to Balmer's Bog.
Marry said: "Unfortunately she met the wrong man that night and things didn't go the way that she maybe had planned. God love her, is all I can say."
'WE KNOW SHE'S GONE'
Mullen was arrested twice as part of the Garda investigation but there was never enough evidence to charge him. He died of an overdose in 2017.
Bernadette passed away from cancer in June 2018.
Ciara's uncle added: "The not knowing is when different things come into your head. This might have happened that might have happened.
"She went out that window to meet somebody that night. But what happened next, my God, I don't want to know that bit. We just want to find her, lay her to rest. Because we know she's gone, deep down I know."
Ciara's sister Sarah said they just want to bury their siblings remains with her mother.
She said: "There is people out there that do know. Obviously it's very scary to come forward with such information about such a sensitive case.
"But I would love for them to come forward, it's not even about justice or what happened, it's just so we can actually find her and bring her back to Bernie.
"She lived not knowing what happened to Ciara, she died not knowing what happened to Ciara and if we could just lay her to rest beside her, I feel we could have a lot of peace throughout the whole family."
- AR Iarraidh — Ciara Breen TG4, Wednesday at 9.30pm.
More >> https://ift.tt/rM5fDAV Source: MAG NEWS
