Mother's plea to missing teen to make contact

Gardaí appeal for help in finding 13-year-old girl missing a week

The mother of a missing teenager has issued a new plea to her daughter asking her to make contact as soon as possible.

Katie Harty's 13-year-old daughter, Ellen O'Reilly, went missing in Kingscourt, Co. Cavan, a week ago today - Wednesday afternoon, June 7, at approximately 4:30pm. Gardaí believe she may have travelled to the Tipperary area.

Speaking to this newspaper Katie said: "If I could speak to her now, I'd like to tell her that everyone loves her and she's not in trouble."

Katie also said that the family is still coming to terms with the tragic death of her eldest daughter.

Ellen is the fifth child in a family of eight, her eldest sister Katieann took her life when she was aged 18, two years ago. For that to happen and to have another child go missing is heartbreaking. Katieann's death had a big impact on all of us, especially Ellen."

She also issued a stark warning to anyone who is withholding information on Ellen's whereabouts or who was involved in her disappearance.

"I'd like to give a strong message to anyone who has got anything got to do with it that the gardai won't be letting it go and they won't be getting away with it. People might say that ' I didn't do anything, I just drove the car', they have to get the notion that they won't be getting in trouble out of their head.

"If they rang and said that 'she's not doing so well and, when she's ready, we'll bring her to the Garda station', that would be okay, but they're not doing that. It's very cruel to take a child and hide her and let people think the worst."

Katie says that the case has caused a lot of trouble, especially online where it has led to a lot of speculation and fear-mongering.

"The case has caused a lot of animosity. People are saying things online like 'It's the foreigners, it's the people we've let into our country.' It's scary that so many people are saying things like they should be run out of the country. It's not about nationality, at the end of the day a child is missing. We don't have to falsely accuse people who are new to this country."

The mother also pleaded for sensitivity with the case due to the potential impact it could have on Ellen.

She said: "I don't want this to turn into a freak show for Ellen because she will have a lot of stuff to deal with."

Katie was also critical of how Gardaí handled the case citing what she claimed was a lack of communication between different stations and information sharing between gardaí changing shifts.

The 13-year-old is described as being approximately 5 foot 2 inches in height with a slight build, with brown hair and blue eyes.

When last seen, Ellen was wearing a grey hooded jumper, blue jeans and silver shoes.

Anyone with information on Ellen's whereabouts is asked to contact Navan Garda Station on 046 907 9930, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.

A spokesperson for An Garda Siochana informed the Celt yesterday that the appeal “remains active” at this time.