The daughter of missing woman Bernadette Connolly has emotionally appealed for information about her mother's whereabouts - saying she "can't give up" her search until she knows what happened.
45-year-old Bernadette Connolly was wearing a black Nike training top, black Nike leggings, black trainers with a white sole, and a black woolly hat when she went missing on Friday January 7th.
CCTV showed Bernadette in the car park of the Shoreline Hotel in Donabate at 11:58am on the day she went missing.
Gardaí are renewing their appeal to the public for assistance in tracing the whereabouts of 45 year old Bernadette Connolly, who is missing from Swords, Co. Dublin since Friday, 7th January, 2022.
READ MORE: https://t.co/n6JqelnM65 pic.twitter.com/gnmCVl4A1Y— Garda Info (@gardainfo) January 28, 2022
The latest update is that CCTV at a house near the Malahide beach car park also picked up images of Bernadette, taken at 12:46 on January 7th.
Leaflets have now been sent out to local residents, with Bernadette's daughter Jade also calling to houses looking for information.
Speaking on The Pat Kenny Show, Jade said: “I was told that the probability of seeing her on CCTV would be rare - but this [new footage] has proved it’s possible.
"They’re able to make out, with her timelines, that that was her at 12:46. I have to remain hopeful.”
It's known that Bernadette did walk along the beach and back after arriving at the beach.
Jade explained: “She walked right down to the very end of a beach, and took a picture - the Malahide Grand hotel was in view. That was at 12:38.
"Then her belongings were found back up the way by a man at 2:50pm. He found her coat and her bag, and her phone was in her coat pocket.
“Her belongings were found up high - they weren’t right near the water or anything. They were up nearer the dunes.”
Jade said her mother was not a swimmer, but she would often put her feet in the water for a paddle.
She said: “There was a pink towel [with a red trim]… found close to where the coat and bag were.
"We can’t be sure if that is my mam’s towel, but it’s something we’re being open-minded about.”
Donabate, meanwhile, usually wouldn't be a place Bernadette would go to for a walk.
Jade said: “We’d be used to going to Malahide, Portmarnock and Howth. That’s not to say she’s never been there before, but just not with me.
“She said to the taxi man that she was meeting a friend. We just don’t know.”
"I can’t sit back and not do anything"
Gardai at Donabate beach asking members of the public for any information about Bernadette Connolly, who has been missing from the Swords area since Friday, January 7. Photograph: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ieJade said there are so many questions she and her family need answered about her mother's whereabouts and disappearance.
She said: "Where is she? Is she on land? Is she on the water? We’re open-minded about the whole thing… while some items have been found, we have no evidence to suggest she’s in the sea either.
“You’re trying to be optimistic, but I’m not in denial about a situation either.
"Until I have her, I can’t give up. I can’t sit back and not do anything.
“For me, not knowing would be the worst. If you did know, you could try to learn to grieve and have her back and give her what she deserves. For all I know, she could have gone off with a friend - that this friend knows that all this is going on and she’s missing.
“Was it a tragic accident, that the waves got too strong and pulled her in when she was paddling her feet? There are so many things to think about. All I know is I need to keep going with this.”
For now, Jade is appealing to anyone out for a walk along the east coast this weekend to keep her mother in their minds.
She said: "Please keep [your] eyes peeled - going right up to Skerries, Bettystown and Drogheda. Please keep her in mind."
Meanwhile, family and gardaí are continuing their efforts - with a poster campaign, drone searches and boat searches underway as part of efforts to find out any information about what happened to Bernadette almost a month ago.
Anyone with information about Bernadette's whereabouts is being asked to speak to gardaí in person or contact Swords Garda Station 01 666 4700, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
