Gardaí remain baffled over car hijacking

GARDAÍ admitted yesterday to being baffled by the lack of information coming from the public in relation to the hijacking of a 25-year-old woman’s car and her unlawful imprisonment.

Parents in a number of schools on the outskirts of Cork city were questioned yesterday by teams of gardaí who are searching for the man who is alleged to have jumped into her car last Monday morning at a filling station in White’s Cross.

The man, who was wearing a balaclava, pulled her seat belt around her throat and ordered her to keep driving. Her frightening ordeal lasted an hour and 20 minutes before she managed to jump from the car and run to safety.

Parents dropping their children at Upper Glanmire National School, New Inn National School and St Joseph’s National School, Riverstown, were questioned yesterday because it is believed the young woman and her abductor had driven past these schools shortly after her car was hijacked at 8.44am.

Gardaí again quizzed motorists passing by Hennessy’s petrol station at White’s Cross, but to date they have no definite sightings of the man, either in that area or in the vicinity of Glenmore Stores near the village of Knockraha, where the woman made her escape.

The man they are looking for spoke with “a rough accent” was wearing a balaclava, a dark, possibly leather jacket and jeans. He was also wearing gloves.

The fact that he was wearing gloves and set fire to the woman’s Ford Ka has left detectives little, if any, forensic information that might identify him.

Gardaí yesterday appealed for anybody who might have seen anything suspicious, especially in the vicinity of the White’s Cross service station or Glenmore Stores, to contact them, even if the information might seem insignificant.

While garda sources indicated that no robbery or sexual assault took place, they are privately hinting that the motive could have been sexual and the young woman had a very lucky escape.

Gardaí are also anxious to hear from anybody who might have seen the woman’s wine-coloured 02-registered Ford Ka between 8.44am and 10.05am.

While the distance between the petrol station and Glenmore Stores is only 16 kilometres, the woman was driving around a number of different country roads for an hour and 20 minutes.

* Anybody with information can contact Glanmire garda station [phone] or Cobh garda station [phone].