Family appeal for information on missing Cork woman Tina Satchwell

Tina Satchwell’s sister’s heart pounds whenever she sees a blonde woman on the street, convinced for one second that it’s Tina, who vanished from her Cork home almost three years ago. Tina is always on her mind and she keeps expecting her to suddenly walk through the front door.

However, since she disappeared in March 2017, no trace has been found of the “bright, bubbly, chatty, and friendly” woman who “would give you anything and had lots of friends”. Her family is appealing for Tina to get in contact — or for anyone with information on her disappearance to come forward.

“She’s been missing for almost three years and there have been no sightings, nothing. But people don’t just vanish,” Teresa said from her home in the UK.

“If I see a blonde lady in the street, I always look, thinking it could be her. I’ve gone up to people a few times. It’s devastating when you realise that it’s not her and that you still don’t know where she is. She’s always in our minds. I keep hoping that she’ll walk through the door.”

Tina is described as 5 ft 7in in height, of medium build, with blonde, shoulder-length hair, and blue eyes. She should turn 48 next month and her family now want to renew a public appeal on her whereabouts before that milestone birthday.

“It’s her birthday in November, she’ll turn 48,” says Teresa. "So we want to get the message out, to let her know that we’re here and we’ll never give up on her. Not knowing is the hardest thing. But someone out there does know. Someone’s got to know something. You can’t just vanish from the face of the earth.

If she’s out there we’d ask her to please get in contact — a phone call, a text message, anything. And we’d ask people to remember back to the time when she went missing. If they can think of anything we’d ask them to please get in contact.

Teresa said her sister’s disappearance is completely out of character.

“She was happy, outgoing, polite, really natural, like all of us,” she says. “She was a really normal person. Very down-to-earth and lovely. She’d help anyone, she was very polite, she’d give you anything and she had loads of friends.

“It’s coming up to three years in March that she went missing and there are no sightings at all. It’s crazy.”

Tina’s husband, Richard Satchwell, is the last known person to see Tina alive. He said his wife asked him to get groceries on March 20, 2017. When he returned to their home on Grattan St, Youghal, he said Tina was not there. He reported her disappearance to gardaí four days later and a major search ensued.

Gardaí have investigated hundreds of lines of inquiry and liaised with international police forces in a bid to find Tina. More than 100 hours of CCTV footage has been examined and more than 100 statements have been taken. Woodland, streams, and rivers have been searched.

Tina’s passport, phone, keys, and beloved dogs were found at her home. Her bank accounts have not been accessed since she vanished. However, Richard said suitcases and more than €26,000 in cash also disappeared from their home the day Tina vanished. Teresa says she and her family will never give up their search for Tina.

“When your sibling goes missing it’s like a piece of you is missing,” she says. “Like a jigsaw, until you find the missing piece it’s not complete. We’re always looking. We’ll never give up looking. All the family is really upset. We’re looking for answers. Where is she? Nobody knows. But someone out there does know something.”

Anyone with information on Tina Satchwell can contact Midleton Garda Station on021 4621550, the GardaConfidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station.