UK UK - Saoirse Smyth, 28, Belfast, 11 April 2017

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PSNI and An Garda Síochána launch search for missing Belfast woman Saoirse Smyth

The Senior Investigating Officer says they believe she has been murdered and they want "to get answers for her family"

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A search is underway in Co Louth for a Belfast woman who was last seen in April 2017 .

Detectives from the PSNI's Major Investigation Team as well as colleagues from An Garda Síochána have united to look for Saoirse Smyth in Omeath.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Darren McCartney, said: “Saoirse was originally from Belfast and disappeared in April 2017.

"Enquires have led us to believe that she has been murdered and we have been working closely with our colleagues in An Garda Síochána to get answers for her family.

“Saoirse was last seen in the Belfast area on April 11th 2017 and I believe she returned to Omeath, where she was living at the time, later that day. Since her disappearance there has been no contact with family or friends which is highly unusual.

“Saoirse had very distinctive red hair and was approximately 5’0” tall and of slim build.

“Today police are making an appeal for information about the circumstances leading to Saoirse’s disappearance and murder.

"We are particularly interested in speaking with anyone who had seen Saoirse or was in contact with her since January 2017.

“Saoirse’s family have been left devastated and they deserve to know what has happened to her. Anyone with any information about her disappearance should contact Detectives at the PSNI incident room Ladas Drive on 101 or 02890700355.

“Alternatively information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime.”

Fresh search launched in Co Louth to find missing Belfast woman

(Video also at link)
 
16 September 2019:


Saoirse Smyth disappearance inquiry reopened

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A dig is underway in Co Louth for the remains of a west Belfast woman who vanished almost two and a half years ago.

Saoirse Smyth, who was 28 when she went missing, was last seen in Belfast in April 2017.

A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána said: "Today, Monday 16 September 2019, An Garda Síochána have commenced a search in a forested area in Omeath, Co Louth.

"The search is being conducted by detectives from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, supported by the Louth Divisional Search Team, Garda Technical Bureau, specialist forensic archaeologist and specialist cadaver search dogs.

"Investigators from the Police Service of Northern Ireland will also be assisting."

Saoirse Smyth disappearance inquiry reopened
 
16 September 2019:


In July last year, UTV exclusively revealed the investigation into Saoirse’s disappearance had been upgraded to a murder inquiry.

Police say Saoirse, who battled drug addiction most of her life, was vulnerable and likely to have been exploited by others in the criminal underworld.

Her family fear her addiction may have in some way cost her her life.

In an emotional interview with UTV at the time her grandmother Vera, who raised Saoirse from the age of four following the death of her own mother, said: “No one deserves this.

"She was only a girl, she was 28, she didn’t deserve that life, didn’t deserve that death. They’ve taken away my granddaughter, they’ve taken part of my life."

Saoirse Smyth disappearance inquiry reopened
 
7 November 2018:


Saoirse Smyth missing: Mysterious disappearance of Belfast woman prompts further police enquiries

The 28-year-old was last seen in the city 575 days ago and police fear she may have been murdered

The Omeath resident often commuted back and forth from Belfast through Newry and used a number of local taxis.

In behaviour described as “very unusual”, the young woman has not been in contact with her devastated family since April 2017.


A 40-year-old man was subsequently arrested, but later released without charge.

Police 'won't give up' after mysterious disappearance of Belfast woman
 
6 July 2018:


'FAMILY DEVASTATED'

Cops believe missing woman Saoirse Smyth was murdered in fit of jealously by a ruthless drugs gangster as they search Louth property


Our exclusive image shows Garda forensic experts searching a property in Omeath as part of a cross-border probe into Saoirse Smyth’s shocking killing

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The hunt was launched after a 40-year-old man was arrested in Newry, Co Down, on Wednesday on suspicion of murder.

During yesterday’s op, gardai examined rooms in the property to establish if Saoirse’s DNA or fingerprints were present amid fears she was killed there before being buried in a shallow grave.

Officers sealed and covered windows while they used infra-red devices to establish if any blood had been left at the home.

Missing Irish woman 'murdered in fit of jealously by ruthless drugs gangster'
 
6 July 2018

Continued:

Garda swooped on the property after the PSNI received intelligence that Saoirse, 28, was killed at the holiday home, where she had briefly lived.

PSNI investigators suspect she may have been murdered by a man who has connections to a cross-border drugs gang and suspected she was in a relationship with a love rival.

The house is rented to visitors and the owner has no connection to the investigation.

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The family asked the PSNI to issue a statement on their behalf.

It reads: “Somebody out there must know something about what has happened to Saoirse and we would plead with anyone who knows anything to contact police.

“And Saoirse, if you are out there, please contact your family and let us know you are OK.”

Missing Irish woman 'murdered in fit of jealously by ruthless drugs gangster'
 
23 July 2018:


Saoirse Smyth's grandmother appeals for information on the whereabouts of her body

Vera Smyth (72) described the last 16 months as having been very hard for the family.

"No-one deserves this, we just want to get closure on it," she said.

"We have heard she is dead and we want to find out where her body is so we can give her a Christian burial, and get closure for myself and the rest of her family.

"It is heartbreaking, someone out there knows something.

"If you know anything, come forward to give us peace of mind because she doesn't deserve the death she has."

https://www.irishnews.com/news/nort...nformation-missing-presumed-murdered-1389593/
 
23 July 2018:

Continued:


Mrs Smyth said she had not seen Saoirse for a year-and-a-half, but when police said they believe she was murdered, she felt like a "ton of bricks" dropped from her heart to her feet.

"I couldn't take it in, I still can't accept it, it's hard to take in," she said.

"I pray to God she didn't suffer, that it was an easy death, not that death is easy, but I hope she didn't suffer.

"We knew there was something going on but we couldn't put a finger on what was going on until the police told us she had been murdered, then it started to sink in, what had happened, where it had happened.

"The last 16 months have been very hard, I put up a front like nothing is going on, but I feel it inside.

"As a family we are always talking about her, sometimes I think she is going to walk through the door but she hasn't."

Mrs Smyth looked after Saoirse from the age of four after her mother died.

"When she was young, she was a good child, but when she got up a bit, into secondary school, she became a bit out of control," she said.

"She lived in a hostel when she turned 16, she wasn't doing too bad, but I lost contact with her more often than I saw her."

https://www.irishnews.com/news/nort...nformation-missing-presumed-murdered-1389593/
 
7 November 2018:


Further suspect identified in Saoirse Smyth investigation

DETECTIVES have made a fresh appeal for information in relation to missing woman Saoirse Smyth, with a further suspect now identified in relation to her disappearance.

Earlier this year a 40-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman were arrested in Newry, Co Down, in connection with her death.

Both have been released on police bail however a third suspect has now been identified in the case.

The man is currently serving a sentence in Mountjoy Prison in Dublin and has not yet been formally interviewed about the murder.

https://www.irishnews.com/news/2018...ified-in-saoirse-smyth-investigation-1479195/
 
An Garda Siochana are commencing a search in Omeath today to assist our Major Investigation Team detectives investigating the murder of Saoirse Smyth. Saoirse was last seen in Belfast in April 2017 and anyone with information should contact 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Police Service NI on Twitter
 


www.itv.com

Gardaí and cadaver dogs search Louth forest for murdered Belfast woman Saoirse Smyth
"Garda technical teams, a specialist forensic archaeologist and specialist cadaver search dogs are all involved in the search operation.

Gardaí previously assisted the PSNI by carrying out a technical examination of a house in the Omeath area in July 2018."

“We are particularly interested in speaking with anyone who had seen Saoirse or was in contact with her since January 2017,” McCartney added.

Anyone with information on Saoirse’s murder or disappearance can contact gardaí or the PSNI."
 

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