A lorry driver has told gardai he gave a lift to a woman who has claimed she was abducted by a car driver early on Tuesday morning. The man, who is from Naas, went to gardai in the Kildare town on Tuesday night and told them he had given the woman a lift to Shannon.
It is believed the man went to the Garda station after seeing a report on the RTE Aertel news service. Gardai took a written statement from him, in which he said he picked up a young woman in the centre of Naas at around 3 a.m. after he saw her hitching on the roadside.
The 23-year-old woman who made the complaint arrived in a disorientated state at the house of an elderly couple on Tuesday morning at Ballycasey, outside Shannon. She told gardai she had been bundled into a large black car by a man in a business suit with a west of Ireland accent.
She was admitted to St John's Hospital in Limerick overnight and was due for further examination this morning to ascertain whether she had been assaulted. She was due to be interviewed at length by gardai later yesterday afternoon.
Gardai investigating the disappearance of six women, three of whom went missing in the immediate area, had been notified shortly after the woman made the report to gardai in the west. Operation Trace, the special unit examining the six files, is based in Naas Garda station.
However, gardai in Naas are now satisfied there is no link with the investigation into the missing women.
