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Missing, Presumed
Between 1993 and 1998 six Irish women, ranging in age from eighteen to twenty eight, disappeared. The area in which these disappearances occurred shortly became known in the media and the public as ‘The Vanishing Triangle.’ To date, none of the missing females have ever been located.
These six unsolved cases resulted in the creation of the specialist Garda taskforce Operation T.R.A.C.E. in the hopes of finding a connection between the women, but none was found. The taskforce went on to investigate dozens of unsolved cases of women gone missing in Ireland. Alan Bailey served as the National Coordinator for the taskforce for thirteen years, and the stories in Missing, Presumed all come from his personal experiences.
Missing, Presumed sets out in detail the Garda investigations into the disappearances of fifteen women. These women disappeared over a period of twenty years, and in almost half the cases their badly mutilated bodies were recovered, sometimes months later, buried in shallow graves. Each chapter focuses on one woman’s story, from the moment of her disappearance through the investigation up to – when lucky – a conviction. These stories are haunting, terrifying, and true.
These six unsolved cases resulted in the creation of the specialist Garda taskforce Operation T.R.A.C.E. in the hopes of finding a connection between the women, but none was found. The taskforce went on to investigate dozens of unsolved cases of women gone missing in Ireland. Alan Bailey served as the National Coordinator for the taskforce for thirteen years, and the stories in Missing, Presumed all come from his personal experiences.
Missing, Presumed sets out in detail the Garda investigations into the disappearances of fifteen women. These women disappeared over a period of twenty years, and in almost half the cases their badly mutilated bodies were recovered, sometimes months later, buried in shallow graves. Each chapter focuses on one woman’s story, from the moment of her disappearance through the investigation up to – when lucky – a conviction. These stories are haunting, terrifying, and true.
296 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 24, 2018
On March 26, 1993, twenty-six year old Annie McCarrick ran for the bus that would take her out of Dublin and into the countryside for a late afternoon walk. She called out for the driver to stop. He did.
On November 9, 1995, twenty-one-year-old Jo-Jo Dollard missed the evening bus to Kilkenny, which left her stranded in Dublin. She decided to hitchhike home.
Annie and Jo-Jo are two of the six women who disappeared in the perimeter of what is now known as Ireland's 'Vanishing Triangle," an 80-mile area of outside of Dublin.
These six disappearances are the subject of Missing, Presumed by Alan Bailey. For thirteen years, Bailey headed Operation TRACE, a task force assembled to investigate whether the cases were linked.
It is an absorbing account of the mechanics (and politics) of a complex investigation that involved crimes with no crime scene, divergent witness accounts, zero witness accounts and often a
considerable gap in time between the disappearance to the missing person’s report.
For me, the book is at its best when Bailey is recreating the days of the disappearances. His measured prose makes the mundane details of the last known hours and minutes of these women’s lives all the more heartbreaking. She was at the bank. She was at a pub with friends. She was in her bed. She was standing across the street from her house, waiting to cross the road.
When theorizing, Bailey is careful to sort the likely and the possible from the absurd and he never, ever judges the women. Well, if she’d only...she’d be alive. The missing women and their families' pain are kept in sharp focus. Bailey seems to genuinely grieve the accidents of timing, the small catalysts, that delivered the women to the wrong place at the wrong time.
As told by the title, Bailey does believe the missing women were all murdered. He holds no hope for anything but justice.
On November 9, 1995, twenty-one-year-old Jo-Jo Dollard missed the evening bus to Kilkenny, which left her stranded in Dublin. She decided to hitchhike home.
Annie and Jo-Jo are two of the six women who disappeared in the perimeter of what is now known as Ireland's 'Vanishing Triangle," an 80-mile area of outside of Dublin.
These six disappearances are the subject of Missing, Presumed by Alan Bailey. For thirteen years, Bailey headed Operation TRACE, a task force assembled to investigate whether the cases were linked.
It is an absorbing account of the mechanics (and politics) of a complex investigation that involved crimes with no crime scene, divergent witness accounts, zero witness accounts and often a
considerable gap in time between the disappearance to the missing person’s report.
For me, the book is at its best when Bailey is recreating the days of the disappearances. His measured prose makes the mundane details of the last known hours and minutes of these women’s lives all the more heartbreaking. She was at the bank. She was at a pub with friends. She was in her bed. She was standing across the street from her house, waiting to cross the road.
When theorizing, Bailey is careful to sort the likely and the possible from the absurd and he never, ever judges the women. Well, if she’d only...she’d be alive. The missing women and their families' pain are kept in sharp focus. Bailey seems to genuinely grieve the accidents of timing, the small catalysts, that delivered the women to the wrong place at the wrong time.
As told by the title, Bailey does believe the missing women were all murdered. He holds no hope for anything but justice.
March 14, 2020
A very interesting and detailed account of six women who wound up missing in Ireland during the 1990s. The author, Alan Bailey, offered insight into the various types of intense procedures conducted within the investigations of these and other complicated cases regarding missing persons. I highly recommend this book.
November 25, 2020
I was fascinated by this book. A lot of the missing girls (Some found raped, and dead in the mountains) others have never been found. I was riveted to the book, because it was in the area I used to live when younger (Up to 19). I never knew about these abductions. Young people should read the news. What is more frightening is that I am one of the 'lucky' ones. Not many people in those days had more than 1 car. There were not many buses, we lived in the country between Kildare/Wicklow/Dublin. We lived 6 miles from the nearest town. I thumbed lifts so many times to save bus fares. I was at University in Dublin.
I only ever had one scare. I was visiting my cousins in Monasterevin County Kildare with my sister to stay with our cousins to go dancing, and spend the weekend. We would thumb a lift to Disco and back. I often wondered why the Police would stop and say 'Young girls should not be thumbing lifts, it is dangerous' They would give us a lift home in the Police car. Not once did they mention about the missing, raped, murdered, some still never found around this area. It was Ireland and they do not talk about the things they should talk about.
I had one 'scare' with my sister two men picked us up in Newbridge, we told them we were going to Monasterevin. I got a very bad feeling the way they were talking (I was doing Psychology which helps to get a feel on people). My sister did not pick up any feeling, when we got to Kildare just by Police station I said ' We need to get out here. I forgot I have to collect a book off a friend for Uni' They wanted to wait for us. Once out of the car with my sister, we ran like bats out of hell.
Later that day a lone girl was taken from a bus stop further on shortly after they had let us out of their car. People remember the car as being like the one we were in. The 2 men were English. However as there was no information regarding this. We could not go to Police. I only found out reading this book.
I feel so sad for the girls who were raped, and murdered then thrown like a bag of rubbish on a mountainside. It was usually dog walkers who found the girls. I feel immensely sad for the girls never found, the famiies have no closure. In those days in Ireland Police never took it serious, they assumed the girl was pregnant and had gone to London. Apart for the fact that the Police forces were very lazy. Murderers and rapists had free rein to kill, rape then dump the girl like a bag of rubbish.
I will finish by saying There was someone looking out for me the numerous times I thumbed lift and took risks.Sorry for any mistakes I am really so sad for the girls, their families. I am very angry for the Police forces. They could have done so much more to have made an effort to find either the killer/killers. Most importantly the missing girls. May they rest in peace
I only ever had one scare. I was visiting my cousins in Monasterevin County Kildare with my sister to stay with our cousins to go dancing, and spend the weekend. We would thumb a lift to Disco and back. I often wondered why the Police would stop and say 'Young girls should not be thumbing lifts, it is dangerous' They would give us a lift home in the Police car. Not once did they mention about the missing, raped, murdered, some still never found around this area. It was Ireland and they do not talk about the things they should talk about.
I had one 'scare' with my sister two men picked us up in Newbridge, we told them we were going to Monasterevin. I got a very bad feeling the way they were talking (I was doing Psychology which helps to get a feel on people). My sister did not pick up any feeling, when we got to Kildare just by Police station I said ' We need to get out here. I forgot I have to collect a book off a friend for Uni' They wanted to wait for us. Once out of the car with my sister, we ran like bats out of hell.
Later that day a lone girl was taken from a bus stop further on shortly after they had let us out of their car. People remember the car as being like the one we were in. The 2 men were English. However as there was no information regarding this. We could not go to Police. I only found out reading this book.
I feel so sad for the girls who were raped, and murdered then thrown like a bag of rubbish on a mountainside. It was usually dog walkers who found the girls. I feel immensely sad for the girls never found, the famiies have no closure. In those days in Ireland Police never took it serious, they assumed the girl was pregnant and had gone to London. Apart for the fact that the Police forces were very lazy. Murderers and rapists had free rein to kill, rape then dump the girl like a bag of rubbish.
I will finish by saying There was someone looking out for me the numerous times I thumbed lift and took risks.Sorry for any mistakes I am really so sad for the girls, their families. I am very angry for the Police forces. They could have done so much more to have made an effort to find either the killer/killers. Most importantly the missing girls. May they rest in peace
May 26, 2020
Very good analysis of predominantly six of the 'vanishing triangle' cases in Ireland, as well as the disappearance of Mary Boyle and Philip Cairns.
It really humanised particularly the women as quotes from their friends and family attest to the nice women they were and how ordinary their lives were.
One complaint is the repetition of facts, Larry Murphy's attack is repeated about 3 or 4 times every time he is mentioned in relation to one of the missing women. It is a short book and is probably most likely read by a largely Irish audience, therefore everyone knows who Murphy is and what he did.
This alongside constant reminders of who Mary Phelan is and the Monument to Missing People in Kilkenny can get quite irksome and feels like padding.
In saying that, good research and insight and some new information was brought to light, for me at the very least. However, I do think it's a bit brash for a picture of Deirdre Jacob to be on the cover, particularly as her family did not want her named in the book.
It really humanised particularly the women as quotes from their friends and family attest to the nice women they were and how ordinary their lives were.
One complaint is the repetition of facts, Larry Murphy's attack is repeated about 3 or 4 times every time he is mentioned in relation to one of the missing women. It is a short book and is probably most likely read by a largely Irish audience, therefore everyone knows who Murphy is and what he did.
This alongside constant reminders of who Mary Phelan is and the Monument to Missing People in Kilkenny can get quite irksome and feels like padding.
In saying that, good research and insight and some new information was brought to light, for me at the very least. However, I do think it's a bit brash for a picture of Deirdre Jacob to be on the cover, particularly as her family did not want her named in the book.
June 14, 2018
What starts off as a book which (almost formulaically) charts the disappearance of six Irish women at the tail end of the 20th century, ends up being a fascinating read into police procedure, methods of investigation, criminal (and psychopathic behavior), as well as discussing the politics of navigating through the media and the law system.
Missing, Presumed is a fascinating and often tough read. It's chilling to think about the perpetrators of sexual crimes, and how the law sometimes served leniently them rather than give the victim's families any closure.
Once the first six chapters (detailing the tragic disappearance of the six women) are done, the following chapters really help the author, Alan Bailey flex his muscles, in terms of veering into various aspects of his work. There are even, some brief moments of humour (police camaraderie, and financial wranglings from the government).
All in all I would highly recommend this book.
Missing, Presumed is a fascinating and often tough read. It's chilling to think about the perpetrators of sexual crimes, and how the law sometimes served leniently them rather than give the victim's families any closure.
Once the first six chapters (detailing the tragic disappearance of the six women) are done, the following chapters really help the author, Alan Bailey flex his muscles, in terms of veering into various aspects of his work. There are even, some brief moments of humour (police camaraderie, and financial wranglings from the government).
All in all I would highly recommend this book.
May 12, 2025
This is an average sort of true crime book, but it was interesting to read about Ireland's legal system. It was also interesting to learn about the difficulties in establishing which crimes were committed as crimes against the victims specifically, and the crimes committed as part of the partisan violence that was happening in parts of Ireland at the time.
March 28, 2022
I appreciate the stories but I don’t appreciate the misspellings, overuse of exclamation points and improper/transposed proper names.
December 11, 2024
A very good primer on the Vanishing Triangle.
April 10, 2025
Gripping read but left me so sad for the families.
January 31, 2016
A very interesting account of a number of murders and missing persons cases in Ireland, along with the history and development of some aspects of policing in that country. At times it does not show the Irish police force in the most flattering of light, highlighting some blunders that were made, but it is likely that these types of problems occur in most police forces at some stage. The author is a retired former senior member of An Garda Siochana (Irish police).
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews