Mother warns parents of abduction risk

THE mother of a nine-year-old girl — who, along with her friend, was nearly abducted near her home yesterday — warned parents to keep their children close.

“I am so glad I have my daughter here today and to warn parents to keep their kids beside them until this fella is caught, because the next girl might not be so lucky,” said Jennifer Mullen.

Her daughter Kelly and her friend Ciara Brady, 10, were playing near their houses in Cedar Wood Park, in the Cox’s Demesne estate in Dundalk at 8.10pm on Wednesday when they were approached by a man.

“We were playing on the road and this car pulled up. He asked us for directions for behind the houses,” explained Kelly

“He went up, turned and came back and asked us for directions to the chapel because his cat was caught up in the spout of the chapel.

“He said ‘will ye get in the car with me and I’ll give ye 10 if ye help me find my cat’.”

The girls refused and walked away and alerted their parents.

The driver then drove off and was later reported to have approached another girl soon afterwards in another part of the town.

Ciara described the car as white with a Northern Ireland registration, with the letters YCV.

Gardaí believe the car is an old-style Toyota Corolla.

“He had dark brown hair, moustache, an earring in his left ear, and a cream top and was wearing glasses,” said Ciara. He is believed to be in his late 30s or early 40s.

“We’re lucky it’s over and done with,” said Kelly. “We’re lucky we didn’t get into the car or we would have been in the papers today,” she said, referring to the two ten-year-old girls, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, who are missing and feared abducted in England.

Her father, Brendan said: “Reading in the paper about the two young girls in England, myself and Jennifer, our prayers go out to their families. We have our daughter. Knowing what we feel, it’s unbelievable what those parents must be going through.”

Ciara’s tearful grandmother Connie said the whole experience was a “complete nightmare”.

“Last night, I never slept the whole night. I was in and out to the room looking at her. This morning every nerve in my body is gone, thinking what could have been.

“I can’t give enough praise to the two girls listening to us. They must be fed up listening to us, but they were listening. They had the sense not to listen to him and go and get help. Thanks be to the mother of God they did.”