SWISS police have confirmed that a Dutch woman missing from Dublin for a fortnight was in Zurich until Monday. Ms Brenda Winder (23) has been moving from hotel to hotel in the Swiss city, police said yesterday.
She was last seen on Monday morning when she checked out of a hotel. The police have not been able to make contact with her, however.
Interpol and the Swiss police were called in when gardai discovered she had booked a one-way ticket to Zurich on June 9th. The following day she collected her social welfare and left her digs in Artane saying she was going to meet a friend in town and would return later. She has not contacted her family or friends since.
Last night her family said they were deeply concerned about her. "It seems she must be hiding from someone, or is afraid of something," said her brother-in-law, Mr Gerben Jansen. Brenda did not have money and could not afford to stay in hotels for two weeks. She has not touched her bank account. Maybe she did something wrong, something she is ashamed of, in Dublin," he said.
"Her parents are very distressed and nervous. The police have told us that she is alive and looks fine and obviously we are relieved about that. But we don't know why she would have travelled to Switzerland like that. It's a mystery. She has no friends or family there."
Airport police in Zurich studied video footage yesterday to establish if Ms Winder was travelling on her own. She did not check in any luggage at Dublin Airport and was carrying only a white plastic bag.
Swiss media are to run appeals for information about her whereabouts today.
Gardai in Coolock say there have been no further reported sightings here of Ms Winder. "We believe she went of her own accord and are not as concerned about her as we were earlier, but her parents are very anxious to speak to her," a spokesman said.