How could a family arrive in a small village in Kerry, spend up to three weeks there and not be noticed?
That's the question being asked by the gardai in Kerry as well as those in the village of Fenit, which has a population of about 500.
The whole world, it seemed, was searching for the Bramleys - Jeffrey and Jennifer and their foster children, Jade (5) and Hannah (3.) Gardai in the area said yesterday they were not aware the couple and the children had been in the locality.
The couple left England some months ago with their foster children to avoid the social services in Britain returning them to institutional care.
There were sightings in Mayo and in other parts of Ireland, before finally they arrived in Kerry where they hired a holiday home.
In Fenit yesterday, where the couple spent a number of weeks living in a mobile home, local people spoke of a low profile family who did not intrude on the local scene.
At the West End Bar, Mr Dan O'Keeffe said he never saw the family but was aware that they were staying about a mile outside the village.
He added that Fenit was a cosmopolitan village with lots of people coming and going, both during the open and closed tourist season, so that people would not take much notice of new arrivals.
"People walking with their children or looking at a new holiday home or caravan would not attract attention around these parts. I can't remember the couple coming into the pub or the children being here, but I know that since their photographs had been on television and the story has come out, there is great local support and sympathy for them here.
"I can't say that one customer in this bar said anything bad about them, and I'm 20 years in business in Fenit. Everyone is sympathetic towards their plight and everyone wishes them well."
Mr Michael Parker, who runs the post office, said he was vaguely aware of the Bramleys' presence in the village.
He said he saw Mr Bramley in his post office/shop - the only one in Fenit - on a number of occasions but never saw him with his wife.
Neither did the children enter the shop. Mr Parker said Jennifer Bramley also came into the shop on one or two occasions, but again, she was not accompanied by the children.
He added that because of the nature of tourism in Fenit, it was not unusual to see children and parents who might be new to the area taking a walk together.
For that reason, nobody thought there was anything was unusual about the presence of the Bramleys.
Mr Parker said the Bramleys had acquired a mobile home about a mile from Fenit.
Despite its small population, it was quite ordinary for people from outside the area to take holiday homes there. Nobody knew the identity of the Bramleys, he added, and nobody suspected that they were being sought by police in Ireland and England and possibly further afield.
"We get lots of outsiders here. We don't take much notice and we don't see it as an extraordinary thing. Most of my customers were amazed to see the pictures on television depicting the runaways. Until then, we had no idea of what was going on."
One local woman, who asked not to be named, said people in Fenit were on the Bramleys' side. She added that the family had been unobtrusive and as far as anyone could see the children were happy whenever they were spotted in public - which was rarely.
She said because of the comings and goings in Fenit nobody had paid particular attention to the family or noticed anything unusual.
"I think this is a tragic situation. I know they have gone back to England, but they are welcome here any time they want to come. I hope that everything will work out for them."
