The brother of missing woman Sandra Collins, who disappeared 25 years ago, has said her family has “never given up hope that she will come home”.
Ms Collins was last seen on the night of Monday, December 4th, 2000 at approximately 11pm at the Country Kitchen premises on George’s Street in Killala, Co Mayo. She had bought chips in a local takeaway. A pink fleece, later identified as hers, was found on the local pier. She was 28 at the time.
On Thursday, her brother Patrick said he felt “sad, lonesome, helpless and a sense of guilt” on the 25th anniversary of her disappearance.
“I couldn’t help her then, I can’t help her now. I can’t get her, bring her home, can’t go and visit her grave,” he said.
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“This morning I heard the postman at the post box and when I opened it there was a handwritten letter for me. My heart really started to panic and I thought maybe the person [responsible for her disappearance] would have a fit of conscience. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t anything to do with Sandra whatsoever.
“It’s just how you live your life, and it’s not just today that’s happened. You’re just always wondering, and hoping that we’ll find her.”
Ms Collins was pregnant at the time of her disappearance and had decided to travel to the UK to have an abortion.
“She was adamant to the doctor that she had made her decision and that was it,” Mr Collins said. “He told her not to panic. She was about nine or 10 weeks pregnant; she had a bit of time and her GP told her not to rush into anything. He was being kind about not rushing into a decision that she might regret. But she said no; she had made her mind up and had rang England and had made travel arrangements.”
Mr Collins’s mother died in 2004, aged 53; his father died in 2016, at age 70. He said it was “very difficult” for his parents over the years and they had tried their best “to keep a sense of normality”.
“There were many nights that my mother sat in the kitchen in the depths of winter and in the long days of summer, where she would sit at the window wondering where Sandra was,” he said.
He said he and his siblings have “never given up the hope in the fight for Sandra”.
He said people in Killala “know what happened to her. That’s the reality of it and it’s time to step up,” he said. “We’re calling on them to do the right thing and to give Sandra back her dignity. She was a lovely, kind person and she does not deserve to be dumped in a bog or something.”
Gardaí in Killala renewed their appeal for information. Det Insp John Costello asked anyone with information that might previously have seemed insignificant to contact them.
“Relationships change, loyalties change and people may not now be constrained by the set of circumstances that existed for them some 25 years ago,” he said. “With that passage of time, people may feel more comfortable sharing information with gardaí.
“Anyone who contacts An Garda Síochána will be treated with confidentiality, compassion and sensitivity.”
Anyone with information can contact Ballina Garda station on 096 20560, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any station.
