A skull, bones and a suitcase have been found close to where a teenager went missing without a trace in Spain 15 years ago. Amy Fitzpatrick, from Dublin, went missing on New Year’s Day in 2008.
Authorities have since struggled to make any leads, reports the Mirror. The 15-year-old had been living with her mum, Audrey, stepdad, Dave Mahon, and her since-deceased brother, Dean, in Mijas Costa, near Fuengirola, in Spain.
However, Amy's auntie, Christine Kenny, has told the press that they believe remains that have been found may be those of her long-lost niece. Christine said: "The body was found in the hills near Mijas and they reckon the body has been there over a decade.
"There is a possibility that it could be Amy, though, as there was a satchel bag found with the remains, and Amy used to have a similar type bag. They reckon, though, from the bone structure that it’s of a woman aged between 25 and 30, or thereabouts. But it takes ages for that type of thing to be dealt with."
Christine has been acting on behalf of Amy’s father’s side of the family to try and find her niece. She recently met Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin to try to pressure the Spanish authorities to put more resources into the search.
Amy spent New Year’s Eve in 2007 with her friends, Ashley and Debbie Rose, near her Spanish home. At around 10pm on New Year's night, she left the Rose household to walk a few minutes back to her home but never returned.
Amy was not officially reported missing until January 3 and no trace of the teenager has ever been found. According to DublinLive, her best friend Ashley and her mother Debbie said the teen detested stepfather Dave Mahon - the man would later go on to kill her only brother in May 2013.
Ashley and Debbie said at the time that Amy always carried her phone with her and even had it on the night of her disappearance. However, her device was found during a search of the apartment she shared with her mum and stepdad.
It has never been established how the phone got back to the property if Amy was abducted on her way home that night. In an interview with the Irish Mirror last year, Audrey said she had recently been told some explosive claims which added another layer to the case
Audrey was told that Amy was allegedly being paid by drug lords to sit in the front of their car while they went on "drug runs." She said: “I didn’t know anything about this. I was told she would sit in the front of the car like somebody’s daughter. These men were in their 40s or 50s and she sat there and got paid for just being there in the car.”
Audrey said that she remembers her daughter often going off for periods of time but she believed it was to go to the shops or to hang out with pals. A friend of Amy's, Alan Quieros, also told the Irish Mirror about a conversation they had over an online messaging service in which Amy mysteriously said she had a “scheme” after her mother cancelled her flights home to Ireland. Amy told Alan: "I love you, Happy New Year, and don’t worry about me, I’ve got a scheme’."
Amy's Auntie Christine recently revealed that an anonymous woman who sent her new important information could prove to be vital in solving the case. She said: "This lady has never been given her name, but she has been giving information over the years.
"This information has eventually found its way to me through sources. I haven’t got around to all the bits and pieces. There are about 21 pages in it and it’s ongoing."
Christine says the woman insists the people involved in Amy’s disappearance were well known to her.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
