Blathnaid Timothy missing in Dublin [NO IDLE CHAT OR SPECULATIVE POSTS]

phantom_lord

hope something good turns up for you soon glyn.

Raoul Duke III

phantom_lord wrote: »

hope something good turns up for you soon glyn.

Thanks PL, hopefully we get a break soon. The snow melting would be a start!

up for anything

Is there no way to make your appeals for information or sightings louder and more widespread?

I'm living in Kilkenny and when I've mentioned her to people, half of them haven't heard about her and the other half only know about 'that woman from Dublin who went missing. I looked back at the RTE website and the only articles on it were on the 20th/21st of December. I realise Christmas and the extreme weather have mobbed people's consciousnesses but surely this is just as important. Is there no way to fight to have a permanent banner made on the RTE news site? Could it not get a one line mention at the end of every tv/radio/local radio bulletin? Anything just to keep it out there and in every person's mind.

Is there no way to galvanise the media to produce saturation coverage of her disappearance? It would be much better to have the people of Ireland 'bored' by the information over and over again rather than leave a lot of them in ignorance starting with boards.

Every single forum on this site should have an appeal for information about her IN BIG, BOLD, BLACK LETTERING stickied at the top of each forum thread page as well as on the main boards thread index page. This should surely take precedence over thread of the day etc. Is there no way to attach a pop-up to appear in popular threads such as this one which had over a million views. It might annoy people a bit but most would understand. It shouldn't be tucked away in the Dublin forum. This is something which could happen to each and every one of us or to someone we know and love.

My heart goes out to you and your family. It is truly a terrible thing to have happened and I hope that you will have some news very soon.

Let me know what I can do in this neck of the woods to help and I will.

amdublin

I agree.

I know the OP (and the family probably) don't want chit chat and surmisations (and understandably) but I definitely think this thread should be on After Hours at least - you will get so much more views over there than here in the Dublin forum.

OP - Please God you will hear something positive soon.

amdublin

Ps. I know it got a great '"sharing" on facebook - initially - this has died down now.

Maybe you could post over on After Hours and ask everyone to put Blathnaid's pic/poster as their facebook pic and share poster again.

Rekop dog

Hopefully the thaw speeds up the investigation, I hope some good news for you and your family will come soon Glyn, stay strong!!!

The Hill Billy

No further speculation on this thread.

HB

Delia2

Just want to tell the family that people are thinking of them and I cannot imagine how difficult this is for them. I noticed the appeal early on, but it is important to keep the story prominent in the media. I am sure the Gardai know how to get the best coverage. I hope your ordeal will end well and soon.

caseyann

Has there even been a tiny bit more information? Surely they are checking all cctv footage from when Bláthnaid got into the taxi?

Bendihorse

From the footage it would appear to be a black E Class merc (1996-2002 Model)

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/1996-to-2002-mercedes-benz-e-class-6.htm

It seems to be fitted with those aftermarket cheap stick on chrome accents on the wheel arches... Its a Pretty distinctive car.

Prob not of much... I really hope you hear something soon.

Raoul Duke III

Bendihorse wrote: »

From the footage it would appear to be a black E Class merc (1996-2002 Model)

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/1996-to-2002-mercedes-benz-e-class-6.htm

It seems to be fitted with those aftermarket cheap stick on chrome accents on the wheel arches... Its a Pretty distinctive car.

Prob not of much... I really hope you hear something soon.

Thanks Bendihorse

HellFireClub

glynmurphy wrote: »

Thanks Bendihorse

Is it not completely counterproductive and possibly dangerous, to allow partial speculation, discussion and innuendo, (which you have asked people not to engage in), to emerge on the thread???

If there is no discussion allowed on this thread, then could I respectfully ask why the thread is still being kept open as opposed to being locked??? If anyone has information that they might feel is relevant, should they not contact the Gardai directly at the incident room as the Gardai have requested people to do instead of being encouraged to post their views on here, by virtue of the thread being kept open and most posts from people who have genuine questions on this case with regard to the completely non-existant media coverage, being deleted???

Delia2

Fair point, but important that possible witnesses are reminded or their memory jogged. A hard piece of evidence, like the fact that the Gardai know the type of car is not conjecture and could help in identifying the driver.

HellFireClub

Delia2 wrote: »

Fair point, but important that possible witnesses are reminded or their memory jogged. A hard piece of evidence, like the fact that the Gardai know the type of car is not conjecture and could help in identifying the driver.

The Gardai are not engaging with the public at all on this case via the media by way of an appeal for help, apart from two press releases on their website which appear to both be dated 20th December 2010, so there hasn't been a Garda appeal in relation to this matter in the last 8 days. The media are not following it at all either and they will generally take their direction on their coverage of these kind of incidents from Gardai. If you try to ask why that is so on this thread, you get told to shut up and you are asked to delete your post, all I'm asking is why that is the case...

keane2097

Jesus Glyn I didn't realise this was still ongoing, really hope you guys get some good news soon.

Delia2

HellFireClub wrote: »

The Gardai are not engaging with the public at all on this case via the media by way of an appeal for help, apart from two press releases on their website which appear to both be dated 20th December 2010, so there hasn't been a Garda appeal in relation to this matter in the last 8 days. The media are not following it at all either and they will generally take their direction on their coverage of these kind of incidents from Gardai. If you try to ask why that is so on this thread, you get told to shut up and you are asked to delete your post, all I'm asking is why that is the case...

I think that in any investigation there is information the Gardai may know but will not divulge to the public. Also, I think the public want to help but this is a real family and a real person is missing and sheer speculation cannot help them.
But you may be right in saying that the thread doesn't serve a useful purpose at this point. I think that keeping the disappearance high profile is the most useful direction to take at this stage.

lileeny

It might be an idea to contact Mercedes and send them the CCTV image. They may be able to do some analysis on the image (i.e. knowing the specific measurements of wheel arches, light placement) and identify the specific model and possibly year or if there are some other specifics they might know of. Just in case it might help to narrow down the possible cars which could be cross matched with the taxi records or car tax / vehicle registration records.

Also, just thinking if it's an African driver - it has been mentioned that they may not read/watch the mainstream media. It might be an idea to contact the African communities here in Dublin and ask them to spread the word?

seniorolaighin

Delia2 wrote: »

But you may be right in saying that the thread doesn't serve a useful purpose at this point.

i agree.

Raoul Duke III

keane2097 wrote: »

Jesus Glyn I didn't realise this was still ongoing, really hope you guys get some good news soon.

thanks Keane

Raoul Duke III

seniorolaighin wrote: »

i agree.

It has been useful for me in terms of people contacting me via PM in order to offer to help in various ways - obviously this isn't 'visible' to the rest of you so you'll have to take my word for it. Also, as someone else has said, the details of the Garda investigation are not visible either so it's easy to make the assumption that nothing is happening. This would be an incorrect assumption as the Gardai are putting huge resources into this - we speak to them several times a day and are aware of the outline of what they are doing. Unfortunately, they, like the rest of us, have very little to go on.

Raoul Duke III

lileeny wrote: »

It might be an idea to contact Mercedes and send them the CCTV image. They may be able to do some analysis on the image (i.e. knowing the specific measurements of wheel arches, light placement) and identify the specific model and possibly year or if there are some other specifics they might know of. Just in case it might help to narrow down the possible cars which could be cross matched with the taxi records or car tax / vehicle registration records.

already done lileeny - with several Merc experts.

lileeny wrote: »

Also, just thinking if it's an African driver - it has been mentioned that they may not read/watch the mainstream media. It might be an idea to contact the African communities here in Dublin and ask them to spread the word?

also already done and another major leafletting effort is planned for Thursday night. If you have any suggestions for targetting this at the 'foreign taxi driver' community (for want of a better phrase), please PM me and you can be assured we will try it.

Raoul Duke III

HellFireClub wrote: »

The Gardai are not engaging with the public at all on this case via the media by way of an appeal for help, apart from two press releases on their website which appear to both be dated 20th December 2010, so there hasn't been a Garda appeal in relation to this matter in the last 8 days. The media are not following it at all either and they will generally take their direction on their coverage of these kind of incidents from Gardai. If you try to ask why that is so on this thread, you get told to shut up and you are asked to delete your post, all I'm asking is why that is the case...

this is simply incorrect and again, I'd prefer if you could keep this sort of ill-informed nonsense off the thread. It doesn't help in any way.

Inspector Cryan has been widely quoted in the media about the search and has been speaking to them daily. The family have also been speaking to the media on an ongoing basis - more interviews are being done tomorrow. The Sunday Indo had a piece on the search two days ago, it's been in the Herald this week again and there will be radio items again tomorrow. Remember, we can't force media outlets to carry the story and, from their perspective, there has been no evolving 'storyline'. Almost all media outlets have been very helpful.

HellFireClub

Glyn everyone here only wishes you well and hopes that this will somehow end up being a good news story...

glynmurphy wrote: »

Unfortunately, they, like the rest of us, have very little to go on.

All the more reason why it is nothing less than bizarre that they are not actively appealing to the public for assistance and information on a daily & hourly basis. This is a small city and people don't just get into a taxi in the very middle of the city and disappear without a trace, someone or possibly several people has/have some piece of information and maybe if they knew about this, if it was getting much better coverage, they might be in a position to come forward. Glyn I'm genuinely not trying to cause any distress here, I just think it is wrong for whatever reason, that this is not on every news report as an appeal for information and on the front page of every Irish news website.

glynmurphy wrote: »

This is simply incorrect and again, I'd prefer if you could keep this sort of ill-informed nonsense off the thread. It doesn't help in any way.

I've been following this since the outset and if you can find a reference to Blathnaid on the main page of any of the following Irish news websites, I'll rush back here and apologise, (I accept that there was a new appeal yesterday on www.herald.ie for assistance):

www.rte.ie
www.independent.ie
www.breakingnews.ie
www.irishtimes.com
www.irishexaminer.ie

Against the backdrop of numerous women having disappeared in this country in recent years in scary circumstances, I don't think it is right that any person now who disappears can be missing for nearly two weeks and it is not being publicised on the front of every daily national newspaper and making the main evening news every day, especially given the known circumstances of this particular case.

If you find that opinion to be misinformed or incorrect, I'm sorry for any distress caused to you but I genuinely believe that the search for Blathnaid is not being properly publicised.

The Hill Billy

HellFireClub - You were already advised that this thread is not for discussion of your particular arguments in relation to Garda efforts or press publicity. Starta a thread in Emergency Services or News & Media. Your further posting is being unhelpful.

Do not post in this thread again.

HB

ANXIOUS

Would it be possible to cross reference the regulators data base for taxis that fit the description and contact the possible drivers? I know it'd be time consuming but I know I'd have no problem Or others giving there time to help.

wyndham

glynmurphy wrote: »

also already done and another major leafletting effort is planned for Thursday night. If you have any suggestions for targetting this at the 'foreign taxi driver' community (for want of a better phrase), please PM me and you can be assured we will try it.

Dublin City fm have programmes for most of the foreign communities in Dublin.
Linked is one that has mostly Nigerian topics and callers.
Also there are other programmes for Russian, Chinese, Korean, Polish, etc.
Have a look at the website.

http://dublincityfm.ie/programmes/ethnic/african-scene/

If you want to contact African drivers and make them aware, I would suggest doing it through their churches and pastors, asking that it be mentioned. There is a large one on Lower Abbey Street just beside the entrance for The Irish Life Carpark, for example.

FreeCheese4All

I'm sure this has been done already but have all buildings with CCTV along that road been contacted? For example I know that the o2 headquarter building on John rogersoms quay has CCTV outside that may point out onto the road

arybvtcw0eolkf

HellFireClub wrote: »

If there is no discussion allowed on this thread, then could I respectfully ask why the thread is still being kept open as opposed to being locked???

The thread is locked, and your incredibly lucky not to be getting a lengthy ban from this forum.

There is precedence across boards.ie that a thread is left open & certain people in that thread (usually disruptive & argumentative people like you) are requested by a moderator to cease posting in the thread - to ignore that request will normally result in a very lengthy ban.

You've escaped even a yellow warning card only because we do understand your frustrations to an extent. Your behaviour toward 'Hill Billy - Moderator' has not gone un-noticed and your cards are well and truely marked in this forum - thread very carefully.

OP, sorry to have had to take this course of action but if you or any of Blathnaid's close family or friends have anything further to add to the thread please PM a Mod (any of us) and it'll be reopened for you.

Likewise anyone wishing to pass on messages of support, suggestions as to where the family might go from here or information leading to the where abouts of Blathnaid can contact the OP, or for more serious information please contact AGS.

Needless to say your in all our hearts.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Thread is re.opened for updates.

phantom_lord

From the facebook page

Hi Everyone,


Yesterday the taxi driver came forward to the Gardaí. He confirmed that he dropped Bláth off on the 14th of Dec at 8.30pm on Harbour Road in Howth.


We set up this page and spoke to the media etc with the clear purpose of appealing to the taxi driver to come forward and thankfully this has happened.


We are extremely grateful to you all for the help, publicity, good wishes and prayers


The Gardaí are now concentrating their search in the Howth area.


We are now asking that if anyone saw Bláthnaid in the Howth area on the night of the 14th of December to contact the Gardaí in Harcourt Terrace on 01 6669500.