A prime suspect in the disappearance of Annie McCarrick is on the run in America, the Irish Sunday Mirror has learned.
According to former Garda detective Alan Bailey, who was centrally involved in the investigation of the missing tourist in Ireland, the man believed to be behind her suspected murder was a member of the Provisional IRA from the North.
Mr Bailey said the man is believed to have killed the 27-year-old after divulging too much about the terrorist group’s operations during a drunken conversation.
It’s understood he was trying to impress Annie with his stories, but realised he had overstepped his mark and had to take care of her in case she revealed the information to anybody else.
College student Annie came to Ireland from Long Island in New York to find her Irish roots.
The last image of her caught on CCTV was at a bank in Sandymount, South Dublin, at 3pm on March 26, 1993.
She was seen on a bus in Ranelagh shortly afterwards and there were reports of her being spotted at Johnnie Fox’s pub in Glencullen that evening.
Speaking to the Irish Sunday Mirror, Mr Bailey said of all the theories suggested over the years this was the most plausible as the investigation team received the tip-off from a very well-placed source.
Mr Bailey told how the man in question is still on the run and is understood to be hiding out in the US. He said: “The most believable scenario involved an IRA man in Johnnie Fox’s Pub.
“This came to us a number of years later and was from a reliable subversive source.
“We were told that an IRA man who was on the run from the North had made his way down to Dublin and was in Johnnie Fox’s and was having a few drinks and Annie was there.
“He apparently got talking to Annie, who was an attractive girl, and he was over talking to her and regaling his exploits for the cause.
“Eventually he realised he had overstepped the mark, naming names and operations, so when she went outside the pub he abducted and killed her.
“He is believed to have called upon his handlers, members of an active service unit, to help get rid of her body.
“He’s actually believed to be now living in America and still on the run.”
And Mr Bailey said he believes it is the most plausible of all angles investigated over the years.
He continued: “I’m not saying it’s definitely what happened but it was a scenario which came up much later and from someone who is deemed reliable.
“If the story is true, there are a number of people who helped in disposing of the body. They can still come forward. They don’t have to identify themselves, just tell where they disposed of the body.
“I was talking to her mother [Nancy] the week of my retirement and she said to me at that stage that she didn’t need to know who did it or why, all she wanted was her daughter’s remains.”
Meanwhile, American private detective Kenneth Strange is calling for anyone with information about Annie’s disappearance to come forward and end her elderly mother’s heartache. The former FBI agent, who is working on the case on behalf of the McCarrick family, said: “I think Nancy has made peace with it all.
“My understanding is that she has a little shrine in her backyard and it’s there that she communicates with her daughter.
“She told me a few years ago, ‘I don’t think I will ever see my daughter again, if you could just bring her home.’
“If anybody knows anything, regardless of how small or insignificant they think it is, please contact the Garda.
“It could be the small piece of information we need to crack the case and give Annie’s mother Nancy closure.”
And when it comes to what might have happened the young American on the day she vanished, Mr Strange said it’s important to look at all theories with an open mind.
He added: “I wouldn’t rule out anything, especially after going back and looking at the case again.
“There was only one sighting and how reliable was that?
“Did she vanish the second she opened her door in Sandymount? Maybe a fresh set of eyes looking at the original evidence would reveal something which was overlooked.”
If you have any information on the disappearance of Annie contact the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666111.
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