France France - Susan Forde, occupational therapist from Ireland, est not-for-profit stroke rehab clinic, Montpellier, 16 Oct 2022

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The family of a Kerry woman who has been living in France have appealed for help tracing her whereabouts, as they have not heard from her since Sunday, and they are concerned for her wellbeing.

The family of Susan Forde believe that she may be in the Montpellier region of France, and they are asking people who may have seen her to get in contact with them or Killarney Police Station.

Ms Forde is an occupational therapist originally from Fossa where she established the Slanú Stroke Rehab clinic in Kerry, a not-for-profit that aimed to help stroke victims. She has been living in France since April.

More at Family of Irish woman missing in France "extremely concerned" for her wellbeing
 
Some further details by French media.
Translated via Google Translate:

“Susan Forde, an Irish woman in her 50s, has not been heard from by her family since October 16 after she texted that she was going to the beach. She would have come to France last April to live in Montpellier, without having given a precise address to her relatives in Ireland. She would have found accommodation and taught English. According to a police source, her mobile phone was confined to Paris on October 7.

Her family has created an email address to collect testimonies: findsusan2022@gmail.com”

www.lagazettedemontpellier.fr

Susan Forde, une Irlandaise disparue à Montpellier ?

Elle n'a plus donné signe de vie à sa famille depuis le 16 octobre après avoir envoyé un texto disant qu'elle allait à la plage.
www.lagazettedemontpellier.fr www.lagazettedemontpellier.fr

Going to the beach sounds highly concerning in this context. Didn’t quite get the part regarding her mobile phone…
 
All pretty confusing - from what I’m seeing (and there really isn’t much info out there) she moved to France in April with a plan to teach English, suggesting Montpellier as her destination, but didn’t tell family or friends any further details or give an address. She was supposedly in contact with family/friends up to the 16th October, but her phone last pinged in Paris nine days earlier on 7th October.

Is this correct? Is there any evidence that she was ever in Montpellier?
 
Further digging reveals little - according to family SF was last seen in the Castelneau-le-Lez district of Montpellier on 4th October (unconfirmed) and the first indication of her being missing comes from family on 17th October via SM, at which point the Garda was already involved - seems pretty rapid if she was last heard from on the 16th, as reported in the Irish press (unless this is a reference to Sunday 9th October, a week previous).

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-40987310.html#:~:text=Susan%20Forde's%20family%20believe%20she%20is%20missing%20in%20France.&text=The%20family%20of%20a%20Kerry,are%20concerned%20for%20her%20wellbeing.
 
We have her visiting Scotland aswell, Highlands police appealing this morning.
Police Scotland is seeking the assistance of the public in trying to locate a 56-year-old woman missing since October 2022.

Susan Forde left the Republic of Ireland in March, 2022 to travel overseas. She travelled to Scotland in October 2022, visiting the capital before she made her way to the Isle of Lewis.

Susan was last seen around 5.12pm on Sunday, 12 October, 2022 when she left the Caladh Inn Hotel in Stornoway and headed towards the town centre.

When last seen, she was wearing an orange top, a dark-coloured jacket with white lining, blue trousers or jeans, walking boots, a cream/grey coloured tammy hat, spectacles and carrying a backpack.

Police are becoming increasingly concerned as there have been no sightings or contact from her since then. Her family is understandably worried and want her home safe.

If anyone has seen Susan or knows her whereabouts, please get in touch with Police Scotland, quoting incident number 1262 or 2 November, 2022.
 
StillDiggin said:
We have her visiting Scotland aswell, Highlands police appealing this morning.
Police Scotland is seeking the assistance of the public in trying to locate a 56-year-old woman missing since October 2022.

Susan Forde left the Republic of Ireland in March, 2022 to travel overseas. She travelled to Scotland in October 2022, visiting the capital before she made her way to the Isle of Lewis.

Susan was last seen around 5.12pm on Sunday, 12 October, 2022 when she left the Caladh Inn Hotel in Stornoway and headed towards the town centre.

When last seen, she was wearing an orange top, a dark-coloured jacket with white lining, blue trousers or jeans, walking boots, a cream/grey coloured tammy hat, spectacles and carrying a backpack.

Police are becoming increasingly concerned as there have been no sightings or contact from her since then. Her family is understandably worried and want her home safe.

If anyone has seen Susan or knows her whereabouts, please get in touch with Police Scotland, quoting incident number 1262 or 2 November, 2022.
Click to expand...

Just clocked this on Twitter - doesn’t bode well IMO.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

Woman who travelled from Ireland missing for 4wks after leaving Stornoway hotel

Susan Forde, 56, arrived in Scotland in October but went off the radar after leaving the Caladh Inn Hotel on the Isle of Lewis.
www.dailyrecord.co.uk www.dailyrecord.co.uk
 
IIRC there was a mention somewhere of SF saying she was ‘going to the beach’ in her last contact. There’s Garry Beach up to the north-east of Stornoway, but I more get the feeling that she would have headed towards the west side of Lewis - Garenin/Barvas or up to the Port of Ness/Butt of Lewis lighthouse. MOO.
 
There are some shores in Stornoway itself but any beaches would be at least two miles away from where she was last seen. Also, no public transport runs on the island on Sundays so unless she walked a fair distance the only option would be car/taxi.
 
Giveusaclue said:
There are some shores in Stornoway itself but any beaches would be at least two miles away from where she was last seen. Also, no public transport runs on the island on Sundays so unless she walked a fair distance the only option would be car/taxi.
Click to expand...
Trying to get clarification on the date she was last seen from the Daily Record/Western Isles police - they still have it down as Sunday 12th October - the 12th was a Wednesday.
 
shadwell said:
Trying to get clarification on the date she was last seen from the Daily Record/Western Isles police - they still have it down as Sunday 12th October - the 12th was a Wednesday.
Click to expand...
The most recent police appeal on social media (Highlands and Islands Police) seems to have been amended to the 16th. I believe it was originally down as the 12th but this has now been changed.
 
Was Susan's last text message a deliberate red herring, or was it simply a quick status update to which she gave little thought? I mean, at the time it was sent (Sunday 16th October 2022) the assumption was that Susan was in the Montpellier region. Indeed, appeals after that date continued to promote the idea that Montpellier was her likely location. In that context, "the beach" could surely only be interpreted as being on the Mediterranean, just a few miles south of the city.

We now know that Susan was actually 1100 miles away in Stornoway when she sent that text, and yet the text made no mention of this (as far as we know). I am struggling to understand.
 
Last edited:
Police Scotland have updated their appeal, adding new information.

"Susan Forde checked out of the Caladh Inn Hotel in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis around 5.10pm on Sunday, 16 October.

She took a taxi to the Borve Country House Hotel, some 15 miles north of Stornoway, where she was left in the car park. She did not enter the hotel and has not been seen since."

Police Scotland (Highlands and Islands Division) Facebook page
 
Very concerning update today. The area she travelled to is relatively remote, coastal and miles from any alternative accommodation. Predominantly moorland with little or no footpaths and scattered detached houses on the through road leading to the most northerly tip of the island (another 12 or so miles away). Locals have been asked to check outbuildings and sheds for any sign. Her poor family, thoughts are with them.
 
So she took a taxi only 15 miles to a new hotel but did not check in? Why would she travel to this new hotel? What did she want to see or do there?

I did Google the hotel, and it seems nice; its Google profile does say it's located 15-minutes from a beach.

However I'll just give my opinion that someone would typically check into their hotel first and then head out on any adventure -- unless they arrived really too early for check-in?

I am rooting for Susan's safe return to her family.
 
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