Gardaí probe abduction of mother from Longford home

A man was being questioned last night by gardaí investigating the abduction of a woman from her home where she had been with her four children.

The woman, aged in her twenties, was forcibly taken from the property at Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, at around 4pm on Saturday.

There is some speculation that some children from the area were present along with her four children during the incident, although gardaí could not confirm that last night.

The abduction sparked a widescale garda search as it utilised local community alert systems to track the car used to abduct the woman, with notifications being sent to hundreds of local people.

It is understood the woman managed to make contact with gardaí at 7am yesterday. It is understood she was uninjured when she was found and that none of the children were harmed in the initial incident.

In a follow-up operation a man was arrested in the Edgeworthstown area and was brought to Granard garda station for questioning under Section 4 of the Offences Against the State Act.

Gardaí last night said they were still trying to piece together the facts in the case.

It is understood the man who was taken for questioning is in his twenties and known to the woman.

Local Fine Gael Cllr Paul Ross said the events of the weekend sounded like a “shocking” incident and added: “Our thoughts are with the children and family in this ordeal.”