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Kidnap suspect killed in garda standoff but victim is still missing

Kidnap suspect killed in garda standoff but victim is still missing

 

Gardaí are still searching for a woman after they fatally shot her abductor in a stand-off in south Dublin.

Armed local detectives confronted the man after he brandished a knife in the Cherrywood area and reportedly threatened people.

But there was no sign of kidnap victim Jastine Valdez, 24, and officers were desperately trying to piece together sightings of the vehicle used in the abduction of the Filipino student to aid their search.

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She was bundled into the boot of a jeep as she was walking in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, where she lives with her parents, at around 6.15pm on Saturday.

Gardaí have urged people who saw the car, a black Nissan Qashqai, registration 171 D 20419, from 5pm on Saturday until 8pm last night to contact them.

Her abductor was named locally as Mark Hennessy, in his early 40s, from Woodbook Lawn, Bray, Co Wicklow.

He was married with two small children. He is understood to have taken his wife’s car at 5pm, only to say he was going out socialising.

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Sources said he was a building sub-contractor and was “doing quite well” and that, from talking to family members, there were no signs of major issues with him.

After a day of searching for the car, local detectives were called to the Bride’s Glen Luas Stop and local business park at Cherrywood, where they found the Qashqai and spotted a man with a knife.

In a statement, the Garda Press Office said: “Gardaí investigating the disappearance of Jastine Valdez interacted with the driver of a vehicle at approximately 8pm in the Cherrywood area of Dublin. An official Garda firearm was discharged.

“Gardaí have located a 171 D Nissan Qashqui they had earlier appealed for at the scene of the shooting.

“Gardai continue to appeal for Jastine Valdez and also for anyone who may have seen the movements of the 171 D Nissan Qashqai since yesterday to 8pm, 20 May, 2018.”

It is thought Mr Hennessy was shot a number of times.

The terrifying events unfolded after Ms Valdez was bundled into the boot of a car in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on Saturday.

An eyewitness rang gardaí, and gardaí received a second report about an hour later by another witness who saw a woman in a distressed state in the back of a vehicle.

A massive search operation was put in place and, at 11.20pm on Saturday, Ms Valdez’s parents reported that their daughter, a student who has been in Ireland for three years, was missing.

 

By Cormac O'Keeffe
Security Correspondent Irish Examiner

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