The uncle of a 15-year-old Limerick girl whose body was recovered from the river Shannon has issued an emotional plea to young girls to respect life and seek help if they need it.
There were heartbreaking scenes at St Munchin’s Family Resource Centre in Kileely yesterday, when Matthew Franklin spoke just hours after his niece Chloe Kinsella was found, some six days after she went missing.
The popular 15-year-old had returned home to her house on Kenyon Avenue in Kileely last Saturday at 8pm. However, 20 minutes later she was gone, never to be seen again until recovery divers took her body from the river at Brown's Quay, just metres from her home shortly before midday yesterday.
Hundreds of volunteers
Addressing Chloe's classmates from fifth year at St Nessan's Community College and the hundreds of volunteers who helped in the six-day search for his niece, Mr Franklin thanked all those who had helped find the teenager.
“Girls please, just look what’s after happening, 15 years of age, a child gone . . . Live your lives, just relax and be happy,” he said. “Just have respect for life and look after yourselves . . . . If the pressure gets to ye just go and seek help or something. As far as we know there was nothing wrong with Chloe, it just all of a sudden came on top of her.
“She was just a lovely little child. She passed my house every morning and hugged my little seven-year-old daughter, and now she’s gone. I can’t believe it.”
Chloe’s sister Linsey broke down as she thanked everybody who helped in the search for her youngest sister.
“I never thought I would be seeing this day,” the 23-year-old wept.
Addressing her sister directly she said: “Chloe, I was waiting for you to come home or even ring my phone.” She thanked everyone who helped to find her. “She never knew how much she was really loved,” she added.
Teenage girls wept as Chloe’s sister was comforted by relatives and friends at the centre, from where all of the weeklong searches were co-ordinated and where volunteers were offered support and refreshments.
The 15-year-old was found by divers from the Limerick Marine Search and Rescue unit.
Her body was taken to University Hospital Limerick where a postmortem was carried out.