A passenger, who had been dropped off home before a crash in Cardiff which killed three of his friends, joined the search and spent 13 hours looking for their missing car. Joel Lia had been dropped off in the white Volkswagen Tiguan before it veered off the road in the early hours of March 4 on the outskirts of the city.
The Mirror reports that the vehicle lay hidden from view just off the A48 in St Mellons and was found almost 48 hours later, as friends and family joined police in a desperate search. Joel, 27, was revealed to be the other passenger last week and a friend said he had spent half a day searching the area after discovering what had happened.
His mum also confirmed that he had been working with police to try to piece together what had happened. His close friend Rafel Jeanne, 24, was killed in the crash, along with childhood friends Eve Smith and Darcy Ross, both 21.
Read more: Cardiff crash survivor 'gutted' as he releases emotional statement from hospital
Two more passengers, Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, were taken to hospital in a critical condition. The Mirror reports that Mr Loughlin has only just regained consciousness and learned of what happened.
Joel had been with Rafel and Shane at Newport social club The Muffler on Friday. March 3, when they met Eve, Darcy and Sophie. They later travelled 38 miles in the car to the Trecco Bay caravan park in Porthcawl, where Shane has a caravan.
Following an altercation at the site, the group later drove back to the Welsh capital where Joel was dropped off near his home in Pentwyn prior to the crash at 2:03am. The group was heading back to Newport to drop off the three women.
In a Facebook post last Monday morning, a friend listed Joel as among those who had been searching for the car. They said: "Heartbroken we could not find them sooner, we all really did try for hours and hours."
They went on to describe how "after 12/13 hours of searching", the group got the call they had been "dreading". Joel's mum then posted last Thursday to respond to much speculation about who the passenger was that had been dropped off before the crash.
She said, at that point, police had been speaking to her son for four days. She added that Joel had given officers "enough info" to the extent the victims' families "grew concerned that [they] should have escalated the search".
She also said that speculation suggesting police had to track down her son to question him was wide of the mark, adding: "He's been helping and is actually at the moment the only witness to events leading up to [the] devastating accident." Joel was seen on CCTV with Rafel as they dropped off a friend at her home on Thursday, March 2.
Another friend also told the Daily Mail she had messaged Rafel on the Saturday evening (March 4), hours after the crash but was concerned when he didn't reply, only to find Joel was having the same issue. Izzy Sinnott said: "I was texting him on Saturday night and when he didn't reply I thought that's a bit strange.
"Then I heard from Joel and he said the same thing – that he couldn't get hold of Rafel." The car was found in the early hours of March 6, with families of the victims criticising police for not starting a search sooner.
A South Wales Police spokesperson told the Mirror on Friday: "There is a sixth person who is a witness in the investigation." Then, in a separate press release later that same day, police added that there had been "incorrect reports" in relation to the sixth person involved.
It confirmed a man was dropped off in the Pentwyn area before the crash and "has assisted the investigation as a witness". The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has launched an investigation into the actions of South Wales Police and Gwent Police during the search for the group.
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