1 00:00:00,350 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 1: Parental discretion is advised for violent sexual assault. The concept 2 00:00:19,060 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 1: of vanishing might seem anachronistic in today's age of social 3 00:00:23,260 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 1: media and surveillance capitalism, but few things have the capacity 4 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:32,010 Speaker 1: to frighten like the notion of completely falling off the 5 00:00:32,070 --> 00:00:35,769 Speaker 1: face of the earth. From the disappearance of the Roanoke 6 00:00:35,850 --> 00:00:40,370 Speaker 1: colony in the 16th century, in what is today North Carolina, 7 00:00:41,050 --> 00:00:45,790 Speaker 1: as covered in Season 4, Episode 13's Lost in Stormy Visions, 8 00:00:46,370 --> 00:00:50,450 Speaker 1: to images of lost children emblazoned on milk cartons during 9 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:55,780 Speaker 1: the 1980s, Vanishing speaks not only to our collective anxiety 10 00:00:56,020 --> 00:01:00,030 Speaker 1: about mortality, but seems to pluck at the very fabric 11 00:01:00,070 --> 00:01:05,410 Speaker 1: of existence itself. Culturally, some of us may be consoled 12 00:01:05,569 --> 00:01:09,319 Speaker 1: by notions of an afterlife, wherein death is not treated 13 00:01:09,380 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: as an end but a new beginning, but vanishing implies 14 00:01:14,020 --> 00:01:20,479 Speaker 1: non-existence without closure. Perhaps because its physical intangibility seems to 15 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:25,040 Speaker 1: rob us of everything and everyone at once, our presence, 16 00:01:25,220 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: futures and pasts and all unfulfilled potentialities. To disappear from 17 00:01:31,540 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: sight is to disappear from memory, and to disappear from 18 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: memory is to be as though we never existed at all. Conversely, 19 00:01:41,900 --> 00:01:46,440 Speaker 1: for some, vanishing is an opportunity for freedom, an antidote 20 00:01:46,660 --> 00:01:52,290 Speaker 1: to today's hyper-connected world, where cutting ties, going off-grid, and 21 00:01:52,370 --> 00:01:55,790 Speaker 1: living on one's wits is an alluring alternative to the 22 00:01:55,850 --> 00:02:00,340 Speaker 1: rat race. There's romance, we're told, in taking to the road, 23 00:02:00,860 --> 00:02:04,570 Speaker 1: in starting it all again, without the pressures of the mundane. 24 00:02:05,530 --> 00:02:09,090 Speaker 1: Such a notion might seem appealing until we consider the 25 00:02:09,169 --> 00:02:13,510 Speaker 1: consequences and the pain we'd most likely leave in our wake. 26 00:02:14,940 --> 00:02:19,580 Speaker 1: Given Ireland's tempestuous history, during the Troubles and beyond, of 27 00:02:19,660 --> 00:02:26,459 Speaker 1: enforced disappearance by paramilitary organisations, clandestine state actors... and powerful 28 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:30,660 Speaker 1: drug gangs, the idea of disappearance in the form of 29 00:02:30,810 --> 00:02:36,070 Speaker 1: secret abduction, imprisonment or murder cuts to the core of 30 00:02:36,130 --> 00:02:41,630 Speaker 1: the concept. The Vanishing Triangle, a term coined by former 31 00:02:41,710 --> 00:02:46,810 Speaker 1: crime correspondent Geraldine Nyland, refers to a number of high-profile, 32 00:02:47,090 --> 00:02:52,520 Speaker 1: possibly connected disappearances in Ireland that Nyland pursued between the 33 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:59,500 Speaker 1: mid-1980s and late 1990s According to Nyland, up to 14 34 00:02:59,500 --> 00:03:04,260 Speaker 1: women either vanished or were murdered within a 100km radius 35 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:09,860 Speaker 1: of Ireland's capital, Dublin. She noted a number of eerie similarities, 36 00:03:10,419 --> 00:03:14,420 Speaker 1: not only of circumstances, but attributes shared by many of 37 00:03:14,460 --> 00:03:19,790 Speaker 1: the women whose disappearances she investigated. The women's ages ranged 38 00:03:19,889 --> 00:03:24,290 Speaker 1: from late teens to late thirties. Each of them disappeared 39 00:03:24,590 --> 00:03:29,830 Speaker 1: inexplicably and suddenly. with no substantial clues or evidence ever 40 00:03:29,889 --> 00:03:34,810 Speaker 1: being found, despite large-scale searches and campaigns by the National 41 00:03:34,890 --> 00:03:40,110 Speaker 1: Police Force, the Garda Siakona. Though the Gardi would eventually 42 00:03:40,170 --> 00:03:43,610 Speaker 1: satisfy themselves that at least four of these cases were 43 00:03:43,650 --> 00:03:48,290 Speaker 1: perpetrated by people unconnected with the other ten, questions still 44 00:03:48,350 --> 00:03:53,100 Speaker 1: remain about whether a serial killer, or killers, was allowed 45 00:03:53,140 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: to operate. in the area known as the Vanishing Triangle, 46 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:01,100 Speaker 1: for over a decade. And if Nyland's accounts of the 47 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:05,500 Speaker 1: disappearances are anything to go by, the main suspect may 48 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:10,740 Speaker 1: very well be walking free to this day. You're listening 49 00:04:10,780 --> 00:04:23,600 Speaker 1: to Unexplained, and I'm Richard McLean Smith. It was a 50 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:28,330 Speaker 1: typically rainy day in the affluent suburb of Sandymount, County Dublin, 51 00:04:28,830 --> 00:04:33,710 Speaker 1: but 26-year-old Long Island native Annie McCarrick had good reason 52 00:04:33,830 --> 00:04:37,690 Speaker 1: to be feeling optimistic. Annie had spent most of her 53 00:04:37,730 --> 00:04:40,630 Speaker 1: life in New York but fell in love with Ireland 54 00:04:40,950 --> 00:04:43,600 Speaker 1: while training to be a teacher there in the 80s. 55 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: After a short spell back in the United States, studying 56 00:04:48,020 --> 00:04:53,290 Speaker 1: at Stony Brook University, Annie returned to Ireland in 1993 57 00:04:53,290 --> 00:04:57,109 Speaker 1: with plans to settle down. Something about the pace of 58 00:04:57,190 --> 00:05:01,190 Speaker 1: life she'd enjoyed during her teacher training in Dublin had 59 00:05:01,230 --> 00:05:04,710 Speaker 1: left a lasting impression on her. But it was also 60 00:05:04,790 --> 00:05:07,750 Speaker 1: the way everyone greeted each other when they passed in 61 00:05:07,770 --> 00:05:10,930 Speaker 1: the street, and the close circle of friends she'd made 62 00:05:11,110 --> 00:05:15,850 Speaker 1: during her time there. Whatever it was, Annie was excited 63 00:05:15,910 --> 00:05:18,410 Speaker 1: to tell her loved ones that she'd finally made a 64 00:05:18,450 --> 00:05:21,270 Speaker 1: decision about what she was going to do with her life, 65 00:05:22,750 --> 00:05:26,150 Speaker 1: Passionate as she was about working with children there was 66 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,779 Speaker 1: no doubt in Annie's mind that following her ambition to 67 00:05:29,820 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 1: become a teacher had to happen in her adopted country. 68 00:05:34,900 --> 00:05:38,350 Speaker 1: Annie's other great passion in life was the great outdoors. 69 00:05:39,750 --> 00:05:44,350 Speaker 1: In March 1993 Annie arranged to go hiking in the 70 00:05:44,390 --> 00:05:49,679 Speaker 1: nearby Wicklow Mountains with one of her closest acquaintances. The 71 00:05:49,710 --> 00:05:52,920 Speaker 1: next day She had plans to meet other friends for dinner, 72 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:56,940 Speaker 1: and her mother Nancy was due to visit the following weekend. 73 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:02,760 Speaker 1: And so it was that on Friday, March 26th, Annie woke, 74 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: looking forward to taking in some crisp country air, and 75 00:06:06,740 --> 00:06:10,370 Speaker 1: maybe even calling into one of the traditional Wicklow pubs 76 00:06:10,670 --> 00:06:13,890 Speaker 1: for a cold pint and to listen to some traditional 77 00:06:13,970 --> 00:06:18,430 Speaker 1: music later that night. Annie was preparing a list of 78 00:06:18,490 --> 00:06:21,970 Speaker 1: provisions for herself, when she got a call from her friend. 79 00:06:22,870 --> 00:06:26,890 Speaker 1: Through a bunged up nose and the occasional splutter, the friend, 80 00:06:27,330 --> 00:06:31,980 Speaker 1: clearly suffering from a cold, apologised profusely, but they wouldn't 81 00:06:32,020 --> 00:06:36,840 Speaker 1: be joining Annie on the walk after all. Though disappointed, 82 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:43,419 Speaker 1: Annie resolved to go it alone nonetheless. CCTV cameras tracked 83 00:06:43,500 --> 00:06:46,110 Speaker 1: Annie as she made her way from her apartment in 84 00:06:46,190 --> 00:06:50,060 Speaker 1: Sandymount to a local bank. where she deposited her wages 85 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 1: from the cafe she worked at. From there, she went 86 00:06:54,020 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 1: to a nearby supermarket to pick up groceries for that 87 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:02,010 Speaker 1: night's dinner. Annie emerged a short time later with a 88 00:07:02,050 --> 00:07:05,850 Speaker 1: bag of groceries before heading off away from the high 89 00:07:05,910 --> 00:07:12,500 Speaker 1: street in the direction of her apartment. That night, a 90 00:07:12,540 --> 00:07:17,960 Speaker 1: near full moon, barely glimpsed through overcast skies, rose above 91 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:23,380 Speaker 1: the rugged, heather-covered terrain of the Wicklow Mountains. As the 92 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:28,180 Speaker 1: air cooled, a light mist came down, obscuring the mountain 93 00:07:28,260 --> 00:07:37,010 Speaker 1: peaks completely. The following day, Annie's friends gathered outside her 94 00:07:37,070 --> 00:07:42,370 Speaker 1: apartment building, clutching bottles of wine. They rang the buzzer excitedly, 95 00:07:42,910 --> 00:07:45,810 Speaker 1: keen to hear about Annie's hike from the previous day, 96 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:53,030 Speaker 1: Then they waited and waited. They checked their watches. Someone 97 00:07:53,070 --> 00:07:57,290 Speaker 1: lit a cigarette. It was definitely today, wasn't it? They 98 00:07:57,330 --> 00:08:10,989 Speaker 1: wondered amongst themselves. Either way, Annie wasn't home. One of 99 00:08:11,110 --> 00:08:14,770 Speaker 1: Annie's friends knew the buzzer for the landlady who lived 100 00:08:14,830 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: in the same building. When she answered, they asked if 101 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:22,260 Speaker 1: she wouldn't mind letting them up into Annie's flat so 102 00:08:22,300 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: they could come out of the cold and wait for 103 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:30,220 Speaker 1: her there. Moments later, they stood a little anxiously outside 104 00:08:30,380 --> 00:08:34,300 Speaker 1: Annie's flat as the landlady turned the key and pushed 105 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:40,990 Speaker 1: open the door. Inside was dark and eerily quiet. They 106 00:08:41,030 --> 00:08:44,050 Speaker 1: flicked on the lights and made their way toward the kitchen. 107 00:08:44,540 --> 00:08:48,260 Speaker 1: where they soon spotted a bag of recently bought groceries, 108 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:52,940 Speaker 1: still unpacked, left out on the counter. She must have 109 00:08:52,980 --> 00:08:56,250 Speaker 1: just popped out for a moment, they thought, until they 110 00:08:56,300 --> 00:09:00,110 Speaker 1: found the receipt inside the bag. It was dated from 111 00:09:00,170 --> 00:09:07,189 Speaker 1: the previous day and time-stamped at 11.02am. Unsure what it 112 00:09:07,270 --> 00:09:11,670 Speaker 1: all meant, Annie's friends called the police immediately to let 113 00:09:11,710 --> 00:09:16,400 Speaker 1: them know that Annie, appeared to have gone missing. It 114 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:19,460 Speaker 1: wouldn't be until the following day, however, with the young 115 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:24,180 Speaker 1: American having then been missing for almost 48 hours, that 116 00:09:24,250 --> 00:09:29,189 Speaker 1: an official missing persons report was filed. Over time, a 117 00:09:29,790 --> 00:09:33,950 Speaker 1: picture of Annie's last known movements was slowly pieced together. 118 00:09:35,330 --> 00:09:38,270 Speaker 1: The last confirmed sighting of Annie was the morning of 119 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 1: the 26th at her local bank. She also made a 120 00:09:42,420 --> 00:09:45,720 Speaker 1: phone call that morning from a public phone box to 121 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:49,160 Speaker 1: her ex-boyfriend's brother in the hope of trying to get 122 00:09:49,230 --> 00:09:51,550 Speaker 1: in touch with her ex who was out of the 123 00:09:51,590 --> 00:09:56,150 Speaker 1: country at the time. What followed has only ever been 124 00:09:56,230 --> 00:10:01,740 Speaker 1: considered anecdotal evidence. A bus conductor claimed to have seen 125 00:10:01,770 --> 00:10:06,580 Speaker 1: a woman fitting Annie's description around 3.40pm on the Friday 126 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:11,000 Speaker 1: boarding a bus from Dublin to Enniskerry in County Wicklow, 127 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:17,660 Speaker 1: about 25km south of Dublin. Later that night, according to 128 00:10:17,700 --> 00:10:21,270 Speaker 1: a doorman and some others, Annie was seen at Johnny 129 00:10:21,330 --> 00:10:25,130 Speaker 1: Fox's pub in the Glen Cullen area, a good few 130 00:10:25,190 --> 00:10:30,569 Speaker 1: kilometres walk from Enniskerry. The doorman working that night would 131 00:10:30,610 --> 00:10:34,910 Speaker 1: later tell investigators that he saw a woman meeting Annie's 132 00:10:34,980 --> 00:10:39,120 Speaker 1: description with a man who he described as having short 133 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:44,400 Speaker 1: brown hair and a rugby player's build. The doorman remembered 134 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:48,020 Speaker 1: the interaction, he said, because the woman's accent stood out. 135 00:10:48,590 --> 00:10:50,960 Speaker 1: and the man she was with offered to pay her 136 00:10:51,030 --> 00:10:55,740 Speaker 1: cover charge for the venue. Annie had been missing for 137 00:10:55,820 --> 00:11:00,660 Speaker 1: four days when her anguished parents, Nancy and John, arrived 138 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:05,070 Speaker 1: in Dublin to join the search. It seemed to Nancy 139 00:11:05,130 --> 00:11:09,470 Speaker 1: and Annie's friends that the Gardaí, the Irish police, only 140 00:11:09,510 --> 00:11:13,530 Speaker 1: took the case seriously once Annie's father arrived on the scene. 141 00:11:14,690 --> 00:11:18,360 Speaker 1: They only took men seriously at that time, said Nancy, 142 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:23,250 Speaker 1: That's just how it was back in those days. The 143 00:11:23,300 --> 00:11:27,110 Speaker 1: Gardie felt there was little reason to suspect anything suspicious 144 00:11:27,170 --> 00:11:31,329 Speaker 1: had occurred. As tragic as it was, it was beginning 145 00:11:31,390 --> 00:11:34,510 Speaker 1: to appear, to them at least, as though Annie had 146 00:11:34,630 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 1: either gone missing of her own accord, or had simply 147 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:43,500 Speaker 1: got lost or badly injured while out walking. Frustrated by 148 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:46,840 Speaker 1: what they saw as a lacklustre response from the Gardie, 149 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:52,300 Speaker 1: Annie's family hired private investigator Brian McCarthy to follow up 150 00:11:52,420 --> 00:11:56,560 Speaker 1: on any potential leads that the police had missed. On 151 00:11:56,600 --> 00:12:02,179 Speaker 1: McCarthy's advice, a $ 150, 000 reward was put up for any 152 00:12:02,250 --> 00:12:07,550 Speaker 1: information that could solve the mystery of Annie's disappearance. Family 153 00:12:07,610 --> 00:12:12,709 Speaker 1: friend and FBI special agent Kenneth Strange also offered to help, 154 00:12:13,190 --> 00:12:17,170 Speaker 1: securing resources from the US government. to open a separate 155 00:12:17,330 --> 00:12:25,360 Speaker 1: stateside investigation into Annie's disappearance. However, concrete answers remained elusive. 156 00:12:37,100 --> 00:12:42,300 Speaker 1: In comparison to Annie McCarrick, friends of 21-year-old Josephine, or 157 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:47,530 Speaker 1: Jojo Dullard, described her as a somewhat shy and reserved character. 158 00:12:48,450 --> 00:12:54,880 Speaker 1: Back in November 1995, Jojo was experiencing financial difficulties after 159 00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 1: dropping out of her beauty therapy course in Dublin. Feeling 160 00:12:59,100 --> 00:13:02,740 Speaker 1: a little insecure about the future, she decided to return 161 00:13:02,820 --> 00:13:08,220 Speaker 1: home to the village of Callan, County Kilkenny, about 150km 162 00:13:08,340 --> 00:13:11,179 Speaker 1: south of Dublin, to stay with her parents for a 163 00:13:11,220 --> 00:13:15,620 Speaker 1: short time. while she considered her next steps. She told 164 00:13:15,679 --> 00:13:21,929 Speaker 1: her family to expect her on November 9th. At 11.37pm 165 00:13:22,450 --> 00:13:25,229 Speaker 1: on the evening of the 9th, the phone rang in 166 00:13:25,270 --> 00:13:29,230 Speaker 1: the home of Mary Cullinan, one of Jojo's closest friends 167 00:13:29,630 --> 00:13:33,790 Speaker 1: who also lived in Callan. Mary picked up the phone 168 00:13:34,210 --> 00:13:36,810 Speaker 1: to find Jojo on the other end of the line. 169 00:13:37,929 --> 00:13:42,310 Speaker 1: It isn't known exactly why Jojo called Mary, Perhaps she 170 00:13:42,350 --> 00:13:45,750 Speaker 1: didn't want to worry her parents or disturb them if 171 00:13:45,770 --> 00:13:50,290 Speaker 1: they were already asleep. Despite being a little tired and cold, 172 00:13:50,670 --> 00:13:55,230 Speaker 1: Jojo was otherwise in good spirits. As she explained to Mary, 173 00:13:55,770 --> 00:13:58,929 Speaker 1: although she'd missed her planned bus out of Dublin, she'd 174 00:13:58,970 --> 00:14:01,390 Speaker 1: managed to get another one to take her as far 175 00:14:01,429 --> 00:14:05,130 Speaker 1: as Naes in County Kildare. She was just calling to 176 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:08,800 Speaker 1: let Mary know, in case anyone was worried, that she 177 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:12,739 Speaker 1: was now in Moone. after securing a few lifts from strangers. 178 00:14:13,980 --> 00:14:18,590 Speaker 1: With another 70km still to go until Callan, Jojo was 179 00:14:18,670 --> 00:14:21,550 Speaker 1: just waiting in the hope of finding another ride to 180 00:14:21,590 --> 00:14:26,880 Speaker 1: get her home. Mary heard the sound of a vehicle approaching, 181 00:14:27,380 --> 00:14:31,480 Speaker 1: before coming to a stop near the phone box. Moments later, 182 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:37,420 Speaker 1: the phone line went dead. Jojo Dullard was never seen again. 183 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:44,450 Speaker 1: Despite Jojo's family's insistence that something untoward had taken place, 184 00:14:45,020 --> 00:14:48,190 Speaker 1: the guardie was said to be slow in taking her 185 00:14:48,270 --> 00:14:53,610 Speaker 1: disappearance seriously. It wasn't until three days after she went 186 00:14:53,690 --> 00:15:05,590 Speaker 1: missing that they opened a formal investigation. As the years passed, 187 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:09,580 Speaker 1: there were few developments in both Jojo Dallard and Annie 188 00:15:09,620 --> 00:15:15,290 Speaker 1: McCarrick's cases. Unbeknownst to their families, however, key figures within 189 00:15:15,330 --> 00:15:20,090 Speaker 1: the Gardie Shear Connor were starting to hypothesise that something 190 00:15:20,170 --> 00:15:25,110 Speaker 1: dark and disturbing was at play. Ever since Special Agent 191 00:15:25,210 --> 00:15:30,130 Speaker 1: Kenneth Strange of the FBI opened his investigation into Annie 192 00:15:30,170 --> 00:15:36,360 Speaker 1: McCarrick's disappearance in 1993, Resources were shared and theories discussed 193 00:15:36,550 --> 00:15:43,340 Speaker 1: between the two international police bodies. In 1998, Gardie Detectives 194 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:49,020 Speaker 1: secured an invite to the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit at Quantico, 195 00:15:49,090 --> 00:15:54,230 Speaker 1: Virginia for a consultation. There, they began to develop the 196 00:15:54,290 --> 00:15:58,630 Speaker 1: theory that both Jojo Dallard and Annie had been abducted 197 00:15:58,710 --> 00:16:03,940 Speaker 1: and murdered, and possibly by the same person. They even 198 00:16:03,980 --> 00:16:08,880 Speaker 1: developed a profile of the likely assailant. The potential suspect, 199 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:11,920 Speaker 1: they believed, was likely to be a married man in 200 00:16:11,990 --> 00:16:16,130 Speaker 1: his thirties with children who had no previous run-ins with 201 00:16:16,170 --> 00:16:21,450 Speaker 1: the law. In short, their perpetrator was probably someone who 202 00:16:21,490 --> 00:16:25,410 Speaker 1: gave the appearance of being a law-abiding citizen and may 203 00:16:25,510 --> 00:16:31,550 Speaker 1: even have ingratiated himself as a pillar of his local community. Ireland, 204 00:16:31,670 --> 00:16:36,160 Speaker 1: it seemed, potentially at its very own serial killer on 205 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:41,520 Speaker 1: the loose. In response to this terrifying prospect, the Guardi 206 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:46,660 Speaker 1: set up a dedicated task force named Operation Trace with 207 00:16:46,700 --> 00:16:51,990 Speaker 1: the express purpose of solving any and all unresolved disappearances 208 00:16:52,090 --> 00:16:55,790 Speaker 1: and homicides in what had then become known as the 209 00:16:55,830 --> 00:17:01,350 Speaker 1: Vanishing Triangle area. They offered a 10,000 euro reward for 210 00:17:01,430 --> 00:17:06,850 Speaker 1: any information resulting in the recovery of a body. Despite 211 00:17:06,910 --> 00:17:11,730 Speaker 1: the mood of general apprehension surrounding the Gardaí investigation into 212 00:17:11,750 --> 00:17:17,170 Speaker 1: the vanishing triangle, 1998 was generally seen as an optimistic 213 00:17:17,250 --> 00:17:21,830 Speaker 1: turning point for Irish society. In March of that year, 214 00:17:22,250 --> 00:17:26,850 Speaker 1: the historic Good Friday Agreement was ratified into the Irish Constitution, 215 00:17:27,430 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 1: effectively ending, or at least quelling, hundreds of years of 216 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:36,900 Speaker 1: animosity between the Irish and British states. Northern Ireland would 217 00:17:36,940 --> 00:17:41,620 Speaker 1: have its own devolved parliament. The Irish Republic, meanwhile, was 218 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:45,350 Speaker 1: in the nascent stages of a period of economic prosperity 219 00:17:45,869 --> 00:17:51,990 Speaker 1: which would eventually bloom and become known as the Celtic Tiger. Then, 220 00:17:52,670 --> 00:18:07,260 Speaker 1: in July 1998, another young woman disappeared. 18-year-old student Deirdre 221 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:10,840 Speaker 1: Jacob had returned home from London where she was studying 222 00:18:11,300 --> 00:18:15,310 Speaker 1: to spend the summer with her parents in Newbridge, County Kildare. 223 00:18:16,450 --> 00:18:20,270 Speaker 1: She'd just completed her first year at St Mary's University 224 00:18:20,850 --> 00:18:23,890 Speaker 1: and was due to return to her accommodation in Twickenham, 225 00:18:24,109 --> 00:18:28,210 Speaker 1: South London, within the next few months. On the day 226 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:32,320 Speaker 1: of her disappearance, she completed some financial admin at the 227 00:18:32,359 --> 00:18:35,399 Speaker 1: local branch of her bank before going to the post 228 00:18:35,460 --> 00:18:39,420 Speaker 1: office to complete a bank draft in anticipation of her 229 00:18:39,460 --> 00:18:44,210 Speaker 1: return to London. This was the last known sighting of Deirdre, 230 00:18:44,750 --> 00:18:51,010 Speaker 1: sometime around 3pm. Some passing motorists said they saw Deirdre 231 00:18:51,390 --> 00:18:55,600 Speaker 1: approaching her parents' driveway a short time later, but she 232 00:18:55,660 --> 00:19:00,780 Speaker 1: never made it inside. On this occasion, the Gardie wasted 233 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:06,600 Speaker 1: little time, and immediately opened an investigation. Once again, however, 234 00:19:07,380 --> 00:19:15,400 Speaker 1: they quickly reached a dead end. Eighteen months later, one dark, 235 00:19:15,619 --> 00:19:21,270 Speaker 1: cold night in early February 2000, two men, Ken Jones 236 00:19:21,369 --> 00:19:25,090 Speaker 1: and Trevor Moody, drove into the foothills of the Wicklow 237 00:19:25,150 --> 00:19:29,790 Speaker 1: Mountains to hunt for foxes. Coming up over a rise, 238 00:19:30,250 --> 00:19:33,250 Speaker 1: the headlights from their jeep picked out a car in 239 00:19:33,290 --> 00:19:36,840 Speaker 1: a lay-by up ahead, and what appeared to be a 240 00:19:36,900 --> 00:19:41,379 Speaker 1: pair of legs sticking out of the boot. There was 241 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:44,770 Speaker 1: a man there too, standing at the back of the car. 242 00:19:45,930 --> 00:19:49,650 Speaker 1: Just then, a woman burst out of the boot with 243 00:19:49,670 --> 00:19:53,419 Speaker 1: what appeared to be a plastic bag stuffed in her mouth. 244 00:19:54,619 --> 00:19:58,570 Speaker 1: She fell to the ground and crawled rapidly off into 245 00:19:58,609 --> 00:20:03,649 Speaker 1: the shadows. The man, suddenly disturbed by the lights of 246 00:20:03,690 --> 00:20:07,609 Speaker 1: the jeep, darted into the car, revved up the engine, 247 00:20:08,190 --> 00:20:12,280 Speaker 1: spun it around and tore off. but not before the 248 00:20:12,340 --> 00:20:17,449 Speaker 1: hunters saw his face. Pulling up the jeep, Jones and 249 00:20:17,530 --> 00:20:20,970 Speaker 1: Moody sprinted toward a ditch where they thought the woman 250 00:20:21,010 --> 00:20:24,630 Speaker 1: had gone. When they shone the torch into it, they 251 00:20:24,670 --> 00:20:29,389 Speaker 1: gasped in horror. The woman lay trembling, caught on a 252 00:20:29,470 --> 00:20:33,429 Speaker 1: fence of barbed wire. She was naked from the waist up, 253 00:20:34,210 --> 00:20:39,260 Speaker 1: her face and body bruised and bloodied. It's okay, they 254 00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:42,570 Speaker 1: said to her. We want to help you. We know 255 00:20:42,630 --> 00:20:47,920 Speaker 1: who that was. Four years ago, the man they saw 256 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:51,460 Speaker 1: tearing off in his car had sexually assaulted one of 257 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:54,780 Speaker 1: their friends in a pub not too far away. They 258 00:20:54,820 --> 00:20:59,260 Speaker 1: were sure of it. The man, they believed, was from 259 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:04,929 Speaker 1: the Boltinglass area, about 13 kilometres away. He was a carpenter, 260 00:21:05,630 --> 00:21:11,480 Speaker 1: and his name was Larry Murphy. Jones and Moody rescued 261 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,760 Speaker 1: the young woman from the ditch and drove her immediately 262 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:23,290 Speaker 1: to Boltinglass Police Station. It was just after 8am the 263 00:21:23,330 --> 00:21:28,030 Speaker 1: following morning when two carloads of Gardie arrived at a 264 00:21:28,090 --> 00:21:34,149 Speaker 1: small dormer bungalow about five kilometres outside of Boltinglass, the 265 00:21:34,190 --> 00:21:38,920 Speaker 1: home of Larry Murphy, his heavily pregnant wife, and their 266 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:46,240 Speaker 1: two sons, just like the FBI profile had predicted. Murphy 267 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:51,439 Speaker 1: was eventually found guilty of repeatedly and violently assaulting and 268 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:56,260 Speaker 1: raping a 26-year-old woman. It was a terrifying and lengthy 269 00:21:56,359 --> 00:21:59,960 Speaker 1: ordeal that began with her abduction from a car park 270 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:05,220 Speaker 1: in Carlow Town, about 90km south-west of Dublin, and a 271 00:22:05,260 --> 00:22:09,530 Speaker 1: good 25km south from where she eventually ended up in 272 00:22:09,570 --> 00:22:24,639 Speaker 1: the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains. Larry Murphy, or the 273 00:22:24,700 --> 00:22:28,100 Speaker 1: Beast of Boltinglass, as he was dubbed by the media, 274 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:33,110 Speaker 1: received just 15 years in prison for his crime, despite 275 00:22:33,170 --> 00:22:37,270 Speaker 1: the seriousness of the incident. Murphy said, like the men 276 00:22:37,330 --> 00:22:40,190 Speaker 1: who caught him, was also known to be a hunter. 277 00:22:40,970 --> 00:22:44,870 Speaker 1: Having secured long-term rights to hunt in Glen Cullen Forest, 278 00:22:45,490 --> 00:22:49,580 Speaker 1: not far from where his survivor was found, he knew 279 00:22:49,619 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 1: the place like the back of his hand. Given what 280 00:22:53,900 --> 00:22:57,260 Speaker 1: many considered to be the practiced nature of the abduction 281 00:22:57,700 --> 00:23:01,139 Speaker 1: and the fact that Murphy had travelled almost 30 kilometres 282 00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:04,949 Speaker 1: from his home to Carlow Town, before driving back to 283 00:23:05,010 --> 00:23:08,210 Speaker 1: his own patch, as it were, to commit the crime, 284 00:23:08,790 --> 00:23:13,320 Speaker 1: suggested to police that he warranted further investigation as a 285 00:23:13,380 --> 00:23:20,040 Speaker 1: suspect in the disappearances of Annie McCarrick, Jojo Dullard, Deidre Jacob, 286 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:26,810 Speaker 1: and potentially a dozen more women. During his incarceration, Murphy 287 00:23:26,980 --> 00:23:30,030 Speaker 1: was scheduled to speak to the police about several of 288 00:23:30,090 --> 00:23:34,130 Speaker 1: these disappearances, but failed to show for the interview after 289 00:23:34,170 --> 00:23:38,040 Speaker 1: his lawyer pulled him away at the last minute. Another 290 00:23:38,100 --> 00:23:42,560 Speaker 1: reason for Murphy's suspected involvement in these cases came about 291 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:46,399 Speaker 1: after a fellow inmate of Murphy's in Port Leash Prison 292 00:23:46,859 --> 00:23:50,300 Speaker 1: was heard to remark that he had enough to, quote, 293 00:23:50,660 --> 00:23:56,100 Speaker 1: put Murphy away for a very long time. As it happened, 294 00:23:56,680 --> 00:24:02,320 Speaker 1: in July 1996, Murphy was working in Newbridge County, Kildare. 295 00:24:02,850 --> 00:24:07,889 Speaker 1: the place where 18-year-old student Deirdre Jacobs disappeared from, the 296 00:24:07,950 --> 00:24:14,169 Speaker 1: same month. Officers reviewing CCTV footage pulled from the post 297 00:24:14,230 --> 00:24:18,369 Speaker 1: office the day Deirdre went missing got a shock when, 298 00:24:18,730 --> 00:24:22,590 Speaker 1: about nine minutes before Deirdre appears on the tape, the 299 00:24:22,630 --> 00:24:27,050 Speaker 1: last known sighting of her, a customer enters the branch 300 00:24:27,550 --> 00:24:32,980 Speaker 1: who looked a lot like Murphy. Larry Murphy was released 301 00:24:33,060 --> 00:24:37,919 Speaker 1: in 2009, having served just nine years of his 15-year 302 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:42,850 Speaker 1: sentence for good behaviour. There was no legislation at the 303 00:24:42,890 --> 00:24:46,570 Speaker 1: time that required Murphy to register as a sex offender. 304 00:24:47,550 --> 00:24:51,530 Speaker 1: When graffiti started to appear marking him out around his 305 00:24:51,590 --> 00:24:55,690 Speaker 1: hometown of Boltinglass, he left the country to start a 306 00:24:55,760 --> 00:25:01,510 Speaker 1: new life in England. In 2018, Deidre Jacobs' case was 307 00:25:01,609 --> 00:25:05,870 Speaker 1: reclassified as a murder inquiry because of some new information 308 00:25:05,950 --> 00:25:10,450 Speaker 1: the guardie had received, including an alleged confession by Murphy 309 00:25:10,790 --> 00:25:16,130 Speaker 1: to a fellow prison inmate. Officers attempted to interview Murphy 310 00:25:16,270 --> 00:25:19,609 Speaker 1: on a voluntary basis, but failed to gain any further 311 00:25:19,670 --> 00:25:31,950 Speaker 1: information about his possible involvement in the various disappearances. If, 312 00:25:32,300 --> 00:25:36,840 Speaker 1: as some senior Gardie and FBI investigators seem to believe, 313 00:25:37,340 --> 00:25:42,200 Speaker 1: Murphy was responsible for the disappearances of Annie McCarrick, Jojo 314 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:47,280 Speaker 1: Dallard and Deirdre Jacob, it leaves many uncomfortable questions which 315 00:25:47,340 --> 00:25:51,360 Speaker 1: have yet to be answered. For a start, what happened 316 00:25:51,420 --> 00:25:54,380 Speaker 1: to the dozens of other women who were either murdered 317 00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:59,609 Speaker 1: or disappeared in the vanishing triangle over the years? To 318 00:25:59,619 --> 00:26:05,580 Speaker 1: 25-year-old Priscilla Clark, and 39-year-old Linda Kavanagh, both of whom 319 00:26:05,660 --> 00:26:11,780 Speaker 1: disappeared on 3rd May 1988 when Murphy was 23 years old. 320 00:26:12,790 --> 00:26:17,150 Speaker 1: The pair were last seen horse-riding near Enniskerry, County Wicklow, 321 00:26:17,850 --> 00:26:21,250 Speaker 1: and though Linda's body was recovered two days later from 322 00:26:21,290 --> 00:26:25,550 Speaker 1: the River Dargle, no trace of Priscilla has ever been found. 323 00:26:26,869 --> 00:26:32,260 Speaker 1: What about 22-year-old Imelda Keenan of Mount Mellick? who vanished 324 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:35,899 Speaker 1: without a trace from her home in Waterford City on 325 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:41,200 Speaker 1: the 3rd of January 1994. Imelda was last seen by 326 00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:45,500 Speaker 1: her boyfriend, Mark Wall, after leaving their shared flat to 327 00:26:45,540 --> 00:26:50,920 Speaker 1: go to the post office. Imelda left their apartment at 1.30pm, 328 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:56,060 Speaker 1: walked down William Street onto Lombard Street, and was sighted 329 00:26:56,140 --> 00:26:58,920 Speaker 1: for the last time crossing a road by a friend, 330 00:26:59,940 --> 00:27:05,980 Speaker 1: She too was never seen again. In Irish mythology, there 331 00:27:06,020 --> 00:27:10,180 Speaker 1: is a concept known as Shakeron She, known in English 332 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:16,020 Speaker 1: as Fairy Straying or Stray Sod. A Stray Sod refers 333 00:27:16,100 --> 00:27:19,200 Speaker 1: to a patch of ground which has been enchanted by 334 00:27:19,260 --> 00:27:23,340 Speaker 1: the She or Fairy Folk, ostensibly as a way of 335 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:28,500 Speaker 1: performing mischief on the human race. A person who finds 336 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:32,340 Speaker 1: themselves in the midst of a stray sod will instantly 337 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:38,480 Speaker 1: become disorientated, even lost, often in surroundings which are otherwise 338 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:42,940 Speaker 1: familiar to them. In order to break the enchantment, a 339 00:27:42,980 --> 00:27:47,410 Speaker 1: person must turn an item of clothing inside out, thereby 340 00:27:47,530 --> 00:27:50,869 Speaker 1: confounding the she who tricked them in the first place. 341 00:27:51,830 --> 00:27:54,130 Speaker 1: If they want to prevent it from happening at all, 342 00:27:54,730 --> 00:27:58,560 Speaker 1: carrying a nail... or salt in your pockets, is said 343 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:03,960 Speaker 1: to ward off the influence of otherworldly magic. As with 344 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:08,639 Speaker 1: most Irish fairy stories, the concept of fairy straying is 345 00:28:08,700 --> 00:28:13,740 Speaker 1: both fascinating and terrifying in equal measure, perhaps because, as 346 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:17,300 Speaker 1: with the concept of the afterlife in relation to death, 347 00:28:17,859 --> 00:28:21,280 Speaker 1: it originated in the days before modern medicine as a 348 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:25,369 Speaker 1: way of explaining the disappearing of people, who became lost 349 00:28:25,510 --> 00:28:30,890 Speaker 1: or disorientated and never returned. It can be frustrating then 350 00:28:31,250 --> 00:28:34,570 Speaker 1: to have to face down the same kind of inexplicable 351 00:28:34,650 --> 00:28:39,110 Speaker 1: disappearances in the modern age. Because we've come to think 352 00:28:39,170 --> 00:28:43,300 Speaker 1: of ourselves as a progressive species, always pushing at the 353 00:28:43,380 --> 00:28:47,260 Speaker 1: boundaries of science and reason to find answers to the 354 00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:52,020 Speaker 1: questions which baffled our ancestors, it is a very particular 355 00:28:52,060 --> 00:28:56,560 Speaker 1: gnawing that takes hold when for all of our sophistication 356 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:08,980 Speaker 1: things remain unanswered. The only thing that is certain about 357 00:29:09,030 --> 00:29:12,810 Speaker 1: the victims of the so-called vanishing triangle, if they were 358 00:29:12,870 --> 00:29:16,650 Speaker 1: indeed abducted and murdered by a man, is that they 359 00:29:16,690 --> 00:29:20,370 Speaker 1: will not be the last to suffer such a horrific fate. 360 00:29:21,670 --> 00:29:25,780 Speaker 1: It's been said that back in 1993, the Irish Gardie 361 00:29:25,820 --> 00:29:29,460 Speaker 1: were too slow to consider a sinister motive for Annie 362 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:35,270 Speaker 1: McCarrick's disappearance, because essentially, that sort of thing just doesn't 363 00:29:35,370 --> 00:29:42,430 Speaker 1: happen there. Since 1996, two 1996 267 women are known 364 00:29:42,490 --> 00:29:46,760 Speaker 1: to have been murdered in Ireland by men 87% of 365 00:29:46,820 --> 00:29:51,760 Speaker 1: whom knew their victims. It is a pattern of endemic 366 00:29:52,020 --> 00:29:56,280 Speaker 1: male on female violence that is in no way restricted 367 00:29:56,340 --> 00:30:01,540 Speaker 1: to Ireland. In fact, Ireland rates as comparatively low on 368 00:30:01,580 --> 00:30:07,000 Speaker 1: the internationally recognised Women, Peace and Security Index for danger. 369 00:30:08,460 --> 00:30:11,860 Speaker 1: In the UK, it has been calculated that a woman 370 00:30:12,060 --> 00:30:16,080 Speaker 1: is killed by a man every three days, and in 371 00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:20,710 Speaker 1: the US, three women are murdered by men every day. 372 00:30:21,930 --> 00:30:26,370 Speaker 1: And these are just the crimes that are solved. For 373 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:31,630 Speaker 1: the families of those like Annie McCarrick, Jojo Dullard and 374 00:30:31,670 --> 00:30:36,670 Speaker 1: Deidre Jacob, whose fates remain unknown, it isn't so much 375 00:30:36,770 --> 00:30:40,320 Speaker 1: that their loved ones have disappeared from the world, but 376 00:30:40,380 --> 00:30:46,000 Speaker 1: that their worlds have disappeared. Without the answers they so 377 00:30:46,060 --> 00:30:50,240 Speaker 1: desperately crave, they live in a permanent suspension of the 378 00:30:50,300 --> 00:30:54,950 Speaker 1: natural order of things. Perhaps the cases of these missing 379 00:30:55,010 --> 00:30:59,620 Speaker 1: women will remain unanswered for decades more to come, their 380 00:30:59,660 --> 00:31:04,980 Speaker 1: families forever stuck in the most unutterable limbo. Or perhaps, 381 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:09,520 Speaker 1: one day, the truth will finally emerge, and in some 382 00:31:09,620 --> 00:31:14,530 Speaker 1: small but vital way, their worlds will come back into view. 383 00:31:22,860 --> 00:31:26,940 Speaker 1: This episode was written by James Connor Patterson and Richard 384 00:31:27,100 --> 00:31:31,350 Speaker 1: McLean Smith. James is a brilliant writer and poet. His 385 00:31:31,410 --> 00:31:36,110 Speaker 1: debut collection of poems, titled Bandit Country, exploring the hinterland 386 00:31:36,170 --> 00:31:39,750 Speaker 1: between the north of Ireland and Republic, was shortlisted for 387 00:31:39,770 --> 00:31:43,550 Speaker 1: the 2022 T.S. Eliot Prize and is out now to buy. 388 00:31:44,010 --> 00:31:48,510 Speaker 1: Do check it out. Thank you as ever for listening 389 00:31:48,550 --> 00:31:51,209 Speaker 1: to the show. Please subscribe and rate it if you 390 00:31:51,250 --> 00:31:56,050 Speaker 1: haven't already done so. Unexplained will be coming to YouTube 391 00:31:56,090 --> 00:31:59,270 Speaker 1: very shortly in video form, so please watch out for 392 00:31:59,310 --> 00:32:02,500 Speaker 1: future developments there. You can subscribe to the channel at 393 00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:07,520 Speaker 1: youtube.com forward slash at unexplainedpod. You can also now find 394 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:14,240 Speaker 1: us on TikTok at tiktok.com forward slash at unexplainedpodcast. Unexplained 395 00:32:14,300 --> 00:32:18,660 Speaker 1: is an AV Club Productions podcast created by Richard McLean-Smith. 396 00:32:19,500 --> 00:32:22,700 Speaker 1: All other elements of the podcast, including the music, are 397 00:32:22,740 --> 00:32:28,120 Speaker 1: also produced by me, Richard McLean-Smith. Unexplained, the book and audiobook, 398 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:32,590 Speaker 1: is now available to buy worldwide. You can purchase from Amazon, 399 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:37,770 Speaker 1: Barnes & Noble, Waterstones and other bookstores. Please subscribe to 400 00:32:37,870 --> 00:32:41,010 Speaker 1: and rate the show wherever you get your podcasts and 401 00:32:41,070 --> 00:32:43,290 Speaker 1: feel free to get in touch with any thoughts or 402 00:32:43,390 --> 00:32:47,130 Speaker 1: ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps 403 00:32:47,170 --> 00:32:49,600 Speaker 1: you have an explanation of your own you'd like to share. 404 00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:54,350 Speaker 1: You can find out more at unexplainedpodcast.com and reach us 405 00:32:54,420 --> 00:33:00,400 Speaker 1: online through Twitter at UnexplainedPod and Facebook at facebook.com forward 406 00:33:00,420 --> 00:33:02,420 Speaker 1: slash unexplainedpodcast.