THE FAMILY of Dublin teenager Amy Fitzpatrick, who went missing in the south of Spain on January 1st, 2008, will meet officials from the Spanish embassy and the Department of Foreign Affairs in coming weeks as part of their campaign to have the investigation into her disappearance widened.
Simultaneous church services will be held to mark the second anniversary of her disappearance tomorrow in Donaghmede, Dublin, and in Fuengirola, Spain, near the home of her mother, Audrey Fitzpatrick.
The now 17-year-old was last seen walking home from a friends house near Mijas on the Costa del Sol at about 10pm on New Years Day 2008. She had been babysitting and was returning home, via a short cut up a dirt lane. She disappeared without her passport or money.
Amy is originally from Donaghmede but moved to Spain in 2004 with her mother. Her brother Dean recently returned to Ireland to live with their father, Christopher Fitzpatrick, in Dublin.
Mr Fitzpatrick told The Irish Times that he believed the family would not get to the bottom of what happened to his daughter until the Spanish authorities investigated Amy’s “lifestyle” in the year before her disappearance.
He has concerns about the fact she was not attending school and, according to local Spanish media reports, was regularly seen out late at night in local bars and nightclubs, sometimes alone.
“I want Amy’s lifestyle investigated urgently. I hope the authorities will begin doing this in the near future. I think only by that being done will we begin to get answers.”
Ms Fitzpatrick, from whom Mr Fitzpatrick is estranged, accepts her daughter was not attending school but rejects reports she was leading an inappropriate life for a young teenager.
"She was mitching from school. That is the case. She was having a hard time and being bullied and I got her into different schools but it just got to the stage where she didn't want to go any more," she told The Irish Times.
“But to say she was out drinking and in pubs on her own – no, that’s all lies. God, no, she wasn’t.”
She meets the Guardia Civil in Malaga monthly for updates. “The situation is the same as last year. The Guardia Civil are doing their best but they have had no further leads since last year.”
Mr Fitzpatrick appointed private investigator Liam Brady last year to assist in his efforts. Mr Brady told The Irish Times that he, too, believed there were issues surrounding the life Amy led in Spain.
Mr Fitzpatrick has just posted a letter to his daughter on the internet which he hopes she will read:
“Dear Amy . . . Not one day has gone by that you have not been on my mind constantly. I desperately miss your calls and I miss you so very much. If you should ever read this little Christmas note I want you to know you are my princess and always will be and the search for you will never end. Please, please make contact with someone, anyone. All my love, Dad.”
Anyone who has information can pass it confidentially to Mr Brady via his website, www.liambrady.ie
