A cork garda has warned of complacency concerning the 1999 abduction of a four-year old Cork girl by her father.
Deirdre Crowley, who will be six on August 11th, has not been seen since she was collected from her mother's house by her father, Mr Chris Crowley, on December 4th 1999.
Sgt Brian Fitzgerald of Douglas Garda station said people are regarding Deirdre's disappearance as a domestic situation rather than a criminal act.
"If a four-year-old girl was taken by a stranger the whole country would be up in arms. But because it was her father people don't seem to be as concerned. They say that the case is sad but tend to think that she is safe with her father."
The story of Deirdre's abduction was aired on RTE's Would you Believe? programme on Wednesday.
Gardai have appealed for students of the former maths teacher who may have seen Mr Crowley to come forward.
"Mr Crowley would have taught maybe 14,000-16,000 students over the years in Fermoy, Co Cork. We are hoping that one of these people may have spotted him on their travels."
There have been alleged sightings of the pair in the past two years in Ireland and the United Kingdom. However, the leads have not checked out and the possibility of father and daughter being in Ireland has been ruled out.
Mr Crowley's car was found by gardai near the Talbot Hotel in Co Wexford shortly after he abducted his daughter. This prompted fears that he took the ferry from Rosslare.
Mr Crowley is described as being a meticulous man with good organisational skills. However, gardai say the abduction could not have been carried out without assistance from outside sources.
"Somebody out there must know where they went to. The routes were planned. It really seems as if they walked off the face of the earth. Mr Crowley must have got some sort of assistance from friends."
Ms Christine O'Sullivan and Mr Crowley broke up in December 1998. The couple were on reasonably good terms and there had not been any problems with visitation rights.
Deirdre and her mother lived in the Cork suburb of Douglas. Ms O'Sullivan described her daughter as a "real girlie girl" who loved Barbie dolls at the time she was taken by her father.
Deirdre Crowley has fair, short hair and blue eyes. Anyone with any information is asked to call Sgt Brian Fitzgerald or Sgt David Treacy at 021 4891115, or to contact their local Garda station.