Annie Bridget McCarrick (born March 21, 1966)[1][2] is an American woman from Long Island, New York who went missing under suspicious circumstances on March 26, 1993, while she was residing in Ireland.[3]
Annie McCarrick | |
|---|---|
| Born | Annie Bridget McCarrick March 21, 1966 |
| Disappeared | March 26, 1993 (aged 27) Dublin, Ireland |
| Status | Missing for 31 years, 1 month and 5 days |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Parents |
|
Background edit
McCarrick was born on Long Island, New York and she lived there until her move to Ireland in January 1987.[2][4] She was the only child of her parents John and Nancy.[5]
She visited Ireland on a school trip as a teenager and fell in love with the country.[5] She studied at St Patrick's College, Drumcondra and St Patrick's College, Maynooth in the late 1980s, then returned to New York and began studying at Stony Brook University in 1991.[5]
She moved to Ireland permanently on 4 January 1993.[5] She moved into rented accommodation in Sandymount with two other tenants.[5]
Days before disappearance edit
She attended the Saint Patrick's Day parade with friends.[5]
She called at Café Java on in Leeson Street on 25 March to collect wages, but as the wages were not ready, she arranged to visit there the following day.[5] She worked there as a waitress and also at the Courtyard Restaurant, Donnybrook[5] She later visited friends and stayed for dinner.[5]
On Friday, 26 March, she spoke to her flatmates, who were going to go home for the weekend.[5] She visited the AIB branch in Sandymount shortly before 11 am - this is the last confirmed sighting of her.[5]
Her mother was due to visit her on 30 March and Annie was looking forward to seeing her.[5]
Disappearance edit
McCarrick disappeared on Friday, March 26, 1993.[6] She had left her apartment in Dublin so that she could go to the Wicklow Mountains for the day. She had asked a friend to accompany her, but her friend declined. CCTV captured images of McCarrick in the Allied Irish Bank location in Sandymount, where she was seen withdrawing money from her bank account. She did some shopping at Quinnsworth supermarket before returning to her apartment at 3:00 pm. She was seen on a bus at about 3:40 pm in Ranelagh[1] heading toward Enniskerry. Some time later that evening between 8 pm and 10 pm, the doorman at Johnnie Fox's pub in Glencullen claims to have seen McCarrick at the pub accompanied by a young man who was wearing a wax jacket. Allegedly, McCarrick had gone to see an Irish music and dancing show that was a traditional event called the Hooley Show, but did not realise that there was a cover charge. McCarrick's male friend then paid for her and accompanied her in to watch the show. Nobody saw either McCarrick or her male friend leave the pub, and the man's identity has never been discovered. However, this sighting at Johnnie Fox's has been disputed over the years. As it was dark and wet outside that night, it seems unlikely that McCarrick would have walked all the way from Enniskerry to Glencullen, which was 6 km away.[6]
Investigation and aftermath edit
Numerous searches by authorities in Ireland have turned up nothing in McCarrick's disappearance. The authorities focused their search on the Wicklow Mountains and wider Leinster area as many women have gone missing there (the "Vanishing Triangle") since 1990.[1] Gardaí believe that McCarrick may have been murdered by the same serial killer involved in the other disappearances.[2]
2008: Reopening edit
In 2008 the case was reopened.
2014: Ex-garda book edit
In 2014, in a new book called Missing, Presumed by a detective named Sergeant Alan Bailey, it was revealed that an IRA killer and child abuser was established as a "credible suspect" in the disappearance of McCarrick.[7][8]
2020: Reported sighting in Enniskerry edit
In March 2020, it came to light that a woman named Margaret Wogan spotted a woman matching the description of Annie McCarrick, in Poppies cafe in Enniskerry on the Friday afternoon that she went missing. According to Wogan, McCarrick was accompanied by a man with a "square face". Private investigators now believe that this is a vital piece of information in the McCarrick case.[9]
2020: US-based investigators edit
In July 2020, a New York-based lawyer named Michael Griffith announced that he had received a significant new lead in relation to the Annie McCarrick case.[10] In September 2020, a U.S-based team of private investigators announced that they had identified the suspect whom they believe murdered Annie McCarrick. The investigative team believes that McCarrick never actually made it to Johnnie Fox's pub and that the alleged sighting at the pub was a case of mistaken identity. Instead, the team believes that McCarrick went missing some time after arriving in Enniskerry. Michael Griffith stated that the pieces of the puzzle were slowly coming together.[11] Michael Griffith stated that the new lead they are working on involves someone whom McCarrick may have dated.[12]
2023: Anglés allegation edit
In February 2023, Spanish television channel La Sexta aired a three-part documentary "Anglés: Historia de una fuga" claiming that the notorious criminal Antonio Anglés might have been responsible for her disappearance.[13][14]
2023: Murder inquiry edit
On 24 March 2023, two days before the 30th anniversary of McCarrick's disappearance, Gardaí stated they had upgraded the investigation to a murder inquiry. They also announced that they had identified two men of interest in regard to McCarrick's disappearance and that these two individuals had lived near to her in Sandymount.[15][5]
Media edit
The case was discussed in episode 4 of the 2015 investigative series Donal MacIntyre: Unsolved entitled: The Case of Annie McCarrick.
McCarrick's disappearance is covered in MISSING: Beyond the Vanishing Triangle, a two-part true crime documentary first aired in May 2023 on RTÉ One.[16]
The case is also at the centre of the documentary Six Silent Killings: Ireland's Vanishing Triangle, which first aired on 12th November 2023 in the UK.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c "Annie McCarrick". www.crimeinmind.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ^ a b c "The Charley Project: Annie Bridget McCarrick". www.charleyproject.org. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- ^ "Annie McCarrick: American missing in Ireland since '93". IrishCentral.com. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ^ "CRACKING CRIME | RTÉ Presspack". presspack.rte.ie. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barry, Aoife (24 March 2023). "Investigation into disappearance of Annie McCarrick 30 years ago upgraded to murder inquiry". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Mother of American student missing from Dublin for 23 years says she just wants a grave". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ "Missing Annie McCarrick's mother 'astonished' to learn of IRA suspect in student's disappearance - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ "IRA member may have killed Annie McCarrick, former garda claims". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ "The vanished: why time and technology may provide answers for the families of Ireland's missing women". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "Case Reopened: Annie McCarrick". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ "The pieces of the puzzle are coming together". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
- ^ Barter, Pavel. "What happened to Annie McCarrick?". The Times. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Spanish serial killer could be linked to Annie McCarrick 30-year missing person tale". 17 February 2023.
- ^ "¿Tuvo algo que ver Antonio Anglés con la misteriosa desaparición de una joven en Dublín tras el crimen de Alcàsser?". 21 February 2023.
- ^ O'Brien, Fergal (24 March 2023). "Murder inquiry launched into disappearance of Annie McCarrick". RTÉ News. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ "Beyond the Vanishing Triangle - the search for Annie McCarrick". RTÉ Culture. RTÉ. Retrieved 10 May 2023.