Subscriber OnlyCrime & Law

Photo of Annie McCarrick thought to be last image of her on day she disappeared in 1993 was taken 11 days earlier

New Garda team has determined the original date given for CCTV image of the US student at bank in Sandymount was incorrect

This image of American student Annie McCarrick - taken from CCTV footage at the AIB branch near her flat in Sandymount, Dublin - was originally thought to have been taken on March 26th, 1993, the day of her disappearance, but Gardaí now say the photo was in fact captured 11 days earlier, on March 15th. Photograph: Garda Press Office

Áine Ryan
Conor Gallagher
Sat Mar 23 2024 - 07:00

A photograph of Annie McCarrick – originally thought to be the last confirmed image of the American woman on the day she disappeared in 1993 – was in fact taken 11 days earlier, it has emerged.

A year after her case was upgraded to a murder investigation a new Garda investigation team has determined that the grainy CCTV footage of the 26-year-old in her local AIB branch in Sandymount – widely publicised as the last definitive image captured of her on Friday, March 26th, 1993 – was in fact captured on March 15th that year.

The Garda Press Office confirmed on Friday evening the original date given for the CCTV image was incorrect and that it was in fact taken on March 15th. However, the Garda team is confident the bag Ms McCarrick had in the image was the bag she had on the day she went missing.

[ The murder inquiry into the 1993 disappearance of Annie McCarrick - is it making progress a year on? ]

The cold case team, appointed last year at the time of the 30th anniversary of the disappearance of the American student, has uncovered a series of errors in the original investigation.

READ MORE

The narrative around McCarrick’s last movements for three decades has been undermined by the forensic work of the new Garda team, who now believe the story of her disappearance may have been closer to her home in Sandymount, Dublin, and not in Johnny Fox’s pub in Glencullen in the Dublin mountains, as originally thought.

Speaking to The Irish Times from her home on Long Island in New York, Ms McCarrick’s mother Nancy has confirmed she is very impressed by the Garda team this time around.

How the investigation into Annie McCarrick's disappearance took a wrong turn

Listen | 16:32

“Members of the team have visited me twice, and their forensic attention to detail has been impressive. They have started from the beginning again, and are re-examining every detail,” she said.

“They have also kept in regular contact since last year, and I am aware they are continuing to track down people who may be in a position to help with their inquiries.”

Nancy McCarrick with Annie on a visit to her daughter while she was studying in Maynooth. Annie was renting a cottage in Ballyboden, Dublin at the time.

Nancy McCarrick (80) still lives in hope that her daughter’s remains may be returned to her for burial.

Annie’s childhood friend Linda Ringhouse remains very forthright that there may have been a different outcome if concerns expressed to gardaí in faxes by family and friends in the aftermath of Ms McCarrick’s disappearance had been taken more seriously at the time. She also has great confidence in the new investigative team.

“It’s never too late for someone to speak up. Someone knows something and isn’t it just the right thing to do?” said Ms Ringhouse.

On Tuesday, the 31st anniversary of Ms McCarrick’s disappearance, Gardaí will renew their appeal to the public for any information that may shed light on the case and murder.

“Individuals who may have interacted with Annie on or after March 26th, 1993, are urged to come forward and assist in the investigation,” the Garda will say in a statement to be released next week.

Conor Gallagher

Conor Gallagher

Conor Gallagher is Crime and Security Correspondent of The Irish Times

LATEST STORIES