Sister of missing vet pleads for public's help

THE OFFALY vet Catherine Gowing, who has been missing in Wales since the weekend, is “the light of my life”, her sister said yesterday as she pleaded for public help to find her.

Welsh magistrates gave police an extra 36 hours yesterday to question a still unidentified 46-year-old man, who is being held on suspicion of the Irish woman’s murder.

Detectives have now traced her movements up until nearly 9pm on Friday night, when she was seen on CCTV cameras leaving an Asda supermarket, carrying a pizza.

However, it has emerged friends and colleagues had begun to become concerned about her after a colleague received an unfinished text message from her later on Friday evening.

Colleagues realised over the weekend that her Irish-registered Renault Clio was missing, but they did not raise the alarm until 9am on Monday morning, believing that she had gone away for the weekend.

David Evans, who owns the veterinary practice in Mold where Ms Gowing has worked for the last 18 months, said: “We thought maybe she had gone somewhere for the weekend or got into some difficulty or something like that.

“We informed the police as soon as she did not turn up for work at 9 o’clock on Monday morning. Then we left it to the police,” he told RTÉ News yesterday.

Speaking at a police-organised press conference, Ms Gowing’s sister, Emma, said: “Please look, please search, please help us find our beautiful sister. Catherine is a kind, sensitive, beautiful person.

“She’s passionate about animals and utterly devoted to my family. She’s my best friend, she’s the light of my life and she’s the light of my parents’ life,” she said.

Supported by her husband, Shay Maguire, the missing woman’s sister said: “If you have any information about Catherine, no matter how trivial you think it is, please contact the police.

“I’d implore the local community to do all they can and help us find her. Look out of your windows, look as you drive or head to work. Check your local street, car parks, garages, waste land or anywhere a car may be left.

“Please look, please search, and please help us find my beautiful sister,” she said.

Local police are now convinced that Ms Gowing, who comes from Clonlee, near Kinnity, Co Offaly, has “come to significant harm”.

She was wearing blue jeans, a light brown/khaki zip-up fleece top with white sleeves and white stripes, along with plain black flat shoes when last seen. Her brown hair was tied up.

Ms Gowing, who went to work in Wales after studying in Hungary, was also carrying a bright brown saddle bag over her shoulder and across her body and was carrying an Asda plastic bag and a pizza-type box.

For now, police are convinced Ms Gowing’s car is the key to her disappearance, though all efforts to trace it since Monday have failed.

Its discovery remains a priority, said Det Supt John Hanson.