A mum of one of five revellers who went missing on a night out, with three now known to have died, claimed the “police didn’t seem to care” and assumed she was “hungover somewhere”.
Sophie Russon, 20, Eve Smith, 21, and Darcy Ross, 21, were last seen in the early hours of Saturday, having partied in popular bar Muffler in Newport before going to clubbing hotspot Trecco Bay in Porthcawl.
They are thought to have made the trip in a Volkswagen Tiguan with two men – Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Shane Loughlin, 32, both from Cardiff, who were also reported as missing.
Now police have said that three members of the group have been found dead but they have not identified them, while the surviving two were rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
Eve, Darcy and Rafel are believed to be those who died in a suspected car crash - though this has not been confirmed by police.
And the mum of Sophie Russon, Anna Certowicz, 42, has hit out at the police claiming that they were not taking the case seriously.
Families and friends of the missing five people issued a number of appeals over the weekend after getting increasingly concerned as time went by without them having had any contact with them.
But Ms Certowicz told the Daily Mail of the police: “They didn’t seem to care. I had to drive to Cardiff to knock on doors myself because they were doing s*d all. They just didn't seem to think it was worth investigating. It was so frustrating.
"I think they assumed that Sophie was hungover somewhere, but she's a sensible girl who works in a bank and hasn't taken a day off for three years. She's not someone who's out clubbing in Cardiff all the time. On Friday nights she's more likely to be babysitting so other people can go out. She wouldn't just vanish like this unless something was wrong.
"The police asked me to stop ringing but at the end of the day I'm a mum I'm going to worry. Her little sister is worrying too, she's only 13 and she's wondering where Sophie is."
Ms Certowicz said that Sophie, Eve and Darcy had known each other since they were children and were very close.
Police discovered the car they were last seen in, in the St Mellons area of Cardiff.
The VW Tiguan was recovered just after midnight on Monday, a spokesperson reportedly said. Police now think that the car was involved in a crash and came off the A48.
A spokesperson from Gwent Police told The Sun : "We understand how distressing it is when a loved one goes missing, we have seen the media reports about this and we will be liaising closely with the families involved to find out more information and address any concerns of this nature."
Anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101, or send a direct message on social media, quoting 2300071791. The case has been referred to the IOPC in line with normal procedures.
