Jastine Valdez investigation: Gardaí to examine note found in 'abduction car'

The note was found following an incident in which the suspect Mark Hennessy was shot dead by an armed officer.

Gardaí believe the note may establish a possible motive for the seemingly random abduction of Jastine Valdez (24) on Saturday.

The development comes after a body was earlier found in the search for Jastine.

A formal identification has yet to take place.

Issuing a statement this evening, gardaí in Bray are now appealing to "anyone who was in the vicinity of Pucks Castle Lane, Murphy’s Lane or using Carrickgollogan Forest Recreation Area, or anyone who was in the vicinity of the Lead Mines in Kiltiernan from Saturday 19/5/18 at 6pm to Sunday 20/5/18 at 8pm who may have seen anything suspicious and in particular Black Nissan Qashqai 171 D 20419."

Gardaí said they are also seeking assistance from hillwalkers or cyclists or "anyone who may have driven through these locations and may be in possession of a dashcam that was operating during this timeframe".

They are asking anyone with information to contact Bray Garda Station 01-6665300 the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.

Their appeal comes as dozens of gardai, members of the Defence Forces, civil defence and sniffer dogs continue to take part a major operation in a wooded area in the Rathmichael vicinity in south Dublin.

The discovery of a body came just hours after the young woman's purse and an identification card were found at a disused golf course there earlier today.

It is understood that the body was found in an old mine this afternoon.

Last night, the father-of-two suspected of abducting the 24-year-old in an apparently-random attack in Wicklow on Saturday was shot dead by an armed officer.

"Gardai investigating the disappearance of 24-year-old Jastine Valdez have discovered the body of a female in the Puckscastle area," a spokesman said.

"The body has not been formally identified.

"Gardai wish to appeal for privacy for the Valdez family at this time.

"Gardaí wish to thank the public, the media, the Defence Forces and Civil Defence for their assistance in this investigation.

This morning, the focus of the search switched to an unused golf course at Puckscastle, close to the Wickow border, where Ms Valdez's purse was found.

Ms Valdez (24) from Enniskerry in Co Wicklow, was last seen being bundled into a Nissan Qashqai SUV near her home on Saturday evening.

Her suspected abductor was shot dead by an officer in a confrontation on Sunday evening after gardai traced the vehicle to the Cherrywood business district south of Dublin.

The man killed has been named locally as 40-year-old Mark Hennessy, from Bray, in Co Wicklow. He was a father-of-two.

Hennessy (40), who was married with two young children, was confronted in a car park in south Dublin last night after a massive search operation for the missing woman.

A senior source told Independent.ie that the kidnapping suspect was armed with a knife when gardaí approached him at the Cherrywood industrial estate.

It is understood that Hennessy threatened to self-harm and stab gardaí, before he was shot by a detective from a south Dublin garda station.

Investigation

Officers are attempting to piece together Hennessy’s movements since 5pm on Saturday when he left his home in Bray, Co Wicklow.

The kidnapping suspect, a building contractor originally from Ballybrack, had told his wife he was going out socialising on Saturday evening.

He has no obvious connections to Jastine and her movements on the day she went missing were random, leading gardai to investigate whether the attack was completely unplanned.

The young IT Tallaght student was abducted by a man driving a black Nissan Qashqai as she walked home near Enniskerry about 6.30pm on Saturday. There has been no sighting of her since.

Following a massive garda appeal for information about the car, Hennessy was sighted at Killiney Dart station yesterday afternoon.

When confronted by members of the public, he mounted a curb in the Qashqai and fled the scene at speed.

He was later traced to the Cherrywood industrial estate where a stand-off with gardaí ensued.

Hennessy was shot dead and, as is normal when a garda firearm is discharged, the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) is investigating the shooting.

However fears are mounting for Jastine after she was not found in the car.

She and her parents, who are from the Philippines, have been living in Ireland for the past three years.

The student had got off a bus in Enniskerry on Saturday evening and was walking home along Kilcroney Road, near the Powerscourt estate, when the Qashqai pulled alongside her.

The driver of the car pulled her into the vehicle and then drove off at high speed.

A woman and her young family witnessed the incident and alerted the gardaí.

About an hour later, a man phoned the gardai to say he had spotted a young woman in distress in a car on the N11, a short distance from where the abduction took place.

Gardai checked the area and set up a wider search for the car.

But when Jastine’s parents contacted gardai at 11pm on Saturday to report she was missing, a large-scale investigation was launched.