Amy Fitzpatrick Missing Since 24 December 2007 ~ New tragedy for family of missing Amy

WE would like to remind our readers that Amy Fitzpatrick, who went missing from Riviera del Sol at the beginning of this year has still not been found and ask you to please bring this case to the attention of your friends and relatives in the UK. We received this letter from Amy’s father, who is desperate to find the young girl.


http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=w_S5RwKRwcM

Dear Editor,

My name is Christopher Fitzpatrick. My daughter Amy Fitzpatrick (16) disappeared on the evening of New Year’s Day 2008 at approximately 10pm when she left her friend’s house in the tourist resort of Riviera del Sol on the Costa del Sol, to take the 10-minute walk to her house.

It has been over 32 weeks now since Amy went missing and there is still no news. Please help me in my search for my daughter and don’t let Amy be forgotten.

Amy has black hair, blue eyes and a pale complexion. She is 1.65m tall and was wearing brown crushed velvet tracksuit bottoms and a black T-shirt with the word ‘DIESEL’ in various different colours when she was last seen. She had no money, phone or passport

Amy is originally from Dublin, Ireland but was living in Spain and had many friends from England.

Since Amy went missing it has made us realise how badly we need a system in place in Europe to protect our children, so we started to campaign for a ‘European Alert’ system. We found it very hard to get volunteers to help but collected signatures in shopping centres, outside concerts, nightclubs, charity nights, online and on the day of the voting, we stood outside my local school collecting signatures from 9am to 10pm. We have already delivered 27,000 signatures to the Minister for Justice Mr Dermot Ahern. http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/AMBERALERTNOW/index.html

We got a sighting of Amy in Portugal and the details were passed to the Irish and Spanish police. This week we discovered the man that reported the sighting back in April has never been contacted by the Irish or the Spanish police.

Donna-Marie from a band called Breeze 52 has given us permission to release a song called ‘Little Angel’ to help us raise funds. The song is dedicated to all missing children all over the world.

We are looking for help in getting the single produced to help us raise funds to hire a private detective and we are also trying to get something personal from celebrities that we could sell on ebay to help us raise funds.

If you feel you can help with this please contact us at info@amyfitzpatrickmissing.com.

This is the first time we have asked for help with funds and any funds that are raised will go to hire a private detective to search for Amy. Any funds left over will be given to an organisation to help other families that are going through the same situation.

For photos of Amy please visit our new website www.searchforamy.com.

Please help me get my Amy back to Ireland where she wanted to be.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my email.


Christopher Fitzpatrick
http://www.euroweeklynews.com/news/10428.html

FORMER Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's mobile number is contained on a laptop that was stolen by burglars who broke into the home of missing teenager Amy Fitzpatrick's Spanish home.

The thieves smashed a window to force their way into the three-bedroom house in the Costa del Sol resort of Riviera del Sol near Fuengirola before ransacking it in their search for cash and jewellery.

Amy's devastated stepdad, Dave Mahon, told yesterday how he returned from the gym to find the teenager's bedroom turned upside down.

The stolen computer had designs of missing posters of Amy on it, as well as hundreds of vital contact numbers that Dave and Amy's mum, Audrey, had amassed during their eight-month search for her.

The thieves also stole jewellery belonging to Dave's mum Kay, who died eight months ago.

The burglars struck between 2pm and 4pm local time yesterday as housewife Audrey (39) was out with a friend and her 38-year-old partner was at the gym.

The couple spent yesterday evening reporting the break-in at the same police station in Fuengirola where they reported Amy missing in January.

Dave said: "They pushed in a window in the TV room to get in. They ransacked the place. We haven't touched Amy's room since she disappeared. It was a shrine to her. They've turned it upside down and pulled all her clothes out of the wardrobe.

Laptop

"The worst thing is they've stolen Audrey's laptop, which she'd been using in the search for Amy. It had everything on it, poster designs, numbers of the Irish ambassador in Spain, even the mobile number of Bertie Ahern who we met in Dublin while he was still the Taoiseach. Losing it is really going to set us back."

Amy's mother Audrey added: "If these people have a heart, I'd urge them to return my laptop. There are numbers on there we'll never be able to recover."

Amy (16) disappeared on New Year's Day after leaving a friend's home in Riviera del Sol where she had baby-sat the night before.

She told her pal she was heading straight home. She vanished without her passport, change of clothes or money.

Police failed to find any trace of her despite a massive search involving hundreds of volunteers.

- Gerard Couzens
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/heartless-burglars-ransack-bedroom-of-missing-teenager-1460180.html

The mother of missing teenager Amy Fitzpatrick met with Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen at Government Buildings yesterday.



Audrey Fitzpatrick and her partner Dave Mahon are hoping that the Taoiseach's intervention will help in the investigation into the mysterious disappearance of the 16-year-old in Spain.

Mr Cowen met with the Dublin couple for about an hour to hear the latest developments in the case.

Amy vanished on the evening of New Year’s Day 1st January 2008 at approximately 10pm when she left her friend’s house in the tourist resort of Riviera Del Sol on the Costa del Sol to take the 10 minute walk to her house.

The Taoiseach's office promised to contact the Irish embassy in Madrid to help in the investigation.

"At the end of the day, he's the pulse of Ireland and has more contacts than we have at home," Ms Fitzpatrick said, adding the couple would host a benefit in Spain next month to raise funds for their ongoing search.





You can get more pictures and information from the following websites:

Bebo

My Space

Amy's official website

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/mother-of-missing-irish-teenager-to-meet-taoiseach-13961731.html

TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen has promised to do "all within his power" to help in the search for missing Irish teenager Amy Fitzpatrick, her mother and step-father said yesterday.

Audrey Fitzpatrick and Dave Mahon met Mr Cowen for just under an hour at Government Buildings to ask for his help in finding the 16-year-old who has been missing from her home in the south of Spain since January.

She disappeared after leaving a friend's house at about 10pm on January 1st to walk to her home in Riviera del Sol, near the village of Mijas in Andalucia.

From Dublin originally, Amy had been living in the village with her mother, stepfather and brother Dean. Dean (18) has now returned to live nearer immediate family in Dublin, said Ms Fitzpatrick. Their father, Christopher Fitzpatrick, lives in Donaghmede, Dublin.

Speaking after the meeting yesterday, she said it had been "very good" and that Mr Cowen had promised to "do all within his power to help find Amy".

"Basically he's the boss of the country. He has more contacts than us and more contacts with people who speak Spanish. I'm sure he will do what he can."

The police in Spain had been "very straight", said Ms Fitzpatrick. "Things haven't changed. She didn't run away and there's another explanation, whether she's under the influence of someone else. They have never put it down that she ran away. They dismissed that idea very early. She's a missing person. But they have nothing to go on, no evidence. They can't work miracles."

She would not go into detail about the meeting with the Taoiseach but said: "Every single thing we asked him for he said he'd do his best. We didn't ask for financial help. You can't put a price on her."

On alleged sightings of her daughter in France, Morocco, England and Mexico, Ms Fitzpatrick said she believed the sincerity of those reporting them and that they had been checked out.

"If you look at teenagers they are all very similar. All the alleged sightings have been followed up."

She said she and her partner had already travelled to Tenerife to publicise Amy's disappearance and planned to visit other parts of Europe to the same end.

"We play it day by day, hour by hour. We think of her every day, day and night, every single day. We're always hopeful. She's out there somewhere. Maybe at this stage she's afraid to come back it's gone so big. If she's out there and even if she never wants to come back or to talk to me it's okay. As long as she lets me know she's okay."

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/0905/1220544893484.html

Fundraising Night in Aid of The Amy Fitzpatrick Search Fund




Amy Fitzpatrick's Family needs Your Support. Help the find AMY Search Fund.


This Thursday 6th November 2008 at 8pm in The Regency Hotel (The Swords Road)



Amy Fitzpatrick went missing on the evening of New Years Day 1st January 2008 at approximately 10pm when she left her friends house in the tourist resort of Riviera Del Sol on the Costa Del Sol (Spain) to take the 10 minute walk to her house.

Amy was 15 at the time of her disappearance she has black hair, is 1.65m tall, and was wearing brown crushed velvet tracksuit bottoms and a black T-Shirt with the word 'Diesel' in various different colours when she was last seen. Amy is originally from Clarehall in Dublin and moved to the Costa Del Sol four years ago.


Amy was wearing the top you see in the picture below when she went missing


For Further Information:

If someone wants to contact Amy´s family directly about the night they can at info@amyfitzpatrickmissing.com or Amys Aunt Christine at 00353857542452

Amy Fitzpatrick Official Site
http://www.searchforamy.com/

Amy Fitzpatrick went missing on New Year's Day this year, and there seems to be no reliable clue as to her whereabouts.

The Irish Ambassador to Spain, Peter Gunning, and the Consul, Breda Lee, visited M�laga on 5 November 2008. They were received there by Teniente Coronel D. Francisco Bueno Bueno of the Guardia Civil.

The main purpose of the meeting was to obtain an updated account of the investigation into the disappearance of Amy Fitzpatrick, who was last seen near her home in Calahonda on 1st January 2008. The Irish Embassy has offered assistance in the case and there has been regular contact and cooperation between the Irish and Spanish authorities since Amy’s disappearance.

The Ambassador and the Consul were accompanied to the meeting by Amy’s mother, Ms. Audrey Fitzpatrick and her partner Mr Dave Mahon.

The Ambassador and family received a comprehensive account of the efforts thus far in the case and of the continuing investigation. The Ambassador took the opportunity to again express appreciation for the efforts made in the case by the Spanish authorities. Arrangements were made to facilitate continuing communications.

In such a case there is always the possibility that some piece of useful information can be remembered and passed to the authorities. In the case of anything arising which could be of possible interest regarding Amy, please inform the authorities by calling 112 or 062.

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_18760.shtml

A newsong about missing Irish teenager Amy Fitzpatrick is receiving airplay on the Costa del Sol in Spain.



Teenagers Hollie Buhagiar (16) and Georgia Thursting (15) have composed a song entitled Somebody's Lost Princess.

The British-born girls performed the song on Gibraltar radio recently and will shortly be recording the song with the help of expat Dublin businessman Maurice Boland, said Amy's mother Audrey.

The girls, who live in the region, spoke about being moved by the sadness of the search for Amy in recent months.

Amy (15) disappeared while walking from a friend's house in Calahonda in Spain to her own home less than a mile away on the night of January 1 last. No trace of the Dublin teenager has ever been found, despite the use of helicopters and tracker dogs in a huge search by police, emergency service workers and volunteers.

Georgia said: "We felt so inspired by her story. I'm fully supporting the family of Amy and everyone looking for her, and I really feel for them and what they are going through. We hope the lyrics mean as much to her family as they do to us."

PRINCESS

Audrey Fitzpatrick told the Herald she was very grateful to the two teenage girls for writing such a song. The girls performed their song at a fund-raising concert in aid of the search for Amy held in Spain recently, she said.

The lyrics of the song include the lines: "This song is for you girl/'cause your family need you back/Somebody's lost princess/ For you they will stay strong/Your beauty's the reason that they are still holding on."

Audrey said she and her family have been very heartened since she attended a high-level meeting in recent days with top police commanders and the Irish ambassador to Spain.

Irish Ambassador Peter Gunning and Consul Breda Lee visited Malaga to meet Colonel Francisco Beuno of the Guadia Civil and his colleagues about the search. Audrey attended with her partner Dave Mahon.

The main purpose of the meeting was to obtain an updated account of the investigation into the disappearance of Amy.

The Irish Embassy has offered assistance in the case and there has been regular contact and cooperation between the Irish and Spanish authorities since Amy's disappearance.

- Alan O'Keeffe

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/song-for-missing-amy-gets-airplay-in-spain-1529245.html

A BODY found in the south of Spain is not that of missing Irish teenager Amy Fitzpatrick, it was confirmed last night.



Spanish police found the body, which was in a suitcase, in La Cala, close to where she was last seen in January this year.

Her father Christopher Fitzpatrick and aunt Christine Kenny contacted the Spanish police and the Department of Foreign Affairs, fearing that it may have been Amy.

"The body was sent to Malaga for forensic tests to determine its exact age and sex and according to the Spanish news the bones are of a large framed adult," said Mr Fitzpatrick.

"It has been confirmed it is not Amy. We are hoping the find of the body will bring on a fresh search for Amy," he added.



"Please God something will come up before Christmas so we can get on with our lives with Amy here with us," said Ms Kenny, adding "We would say to people who are going over to Spain for Christmas and New Year's to remember Amy."

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/suitcase-body-found--in-spain-isnt-our-amy-1541968.html

Interpol joins search for Robbie Graham, best friend of Costa Killer Tony King
POLICE want to grill a British timeshare salesman in connection with the mystery disappearance of a Spanish teenager eight years ago.

Detectives want to interview Robbie Graham about his whereabouts when Maria Teresa Fernandez, 18, went missing in 2000.


Fernandez was last seen at a bus stop in the port city of Motril on August 18.

Now, police want to quiz Graham about his movements between 21.30 and 21.45 on the evening in question.

According to Olive Press sources, Graham was living nearby in Nerja and had been seen in Motril that day.

Graham was accused of being involved in the murders of teenagers Rocio Wanninkhof in 1999 and Sonia Carabantes in 2003.

He got off on a technicality, while his former employee and best friend Tony King - aka The Costa Killer - was found guilty of murder. He is currently in prison in Granada.

King however, has since accused him of murdering Maria Teresa - and as the Olive Press revealed in July - King has been helping detectives with the case.

Murdered
The parents of Maria Teresa have long maintained their daughter was murdered and believe Graham - a former associate of British killer Tony King - is to blame.

Since the beginning of November, detectives from the Policia Nacional have questioned known acquaintances of Graham on the Costa del Sol in a bid to trace the ex-timeshare salesman.

Graham worked for a timeshare deck Lubina Sol, in Riviera del Sol, also intriguingly where teenager Amy Fitzpatrick went missing on New Year’s Day this year.

Police now believe he is in the United Kingdom (the Olive Press understands he is in Brighton) and want Interpol to join the hunt for him.

In 2006, King - who is serving a double life sentence for the murders of teenagers Rocio Wanninkhof and Sonia Carabantes - told police that Maria Teresa had been murdered by Graham.

http://dontletthemhurtourchildren.blogspot.com/

THE parents of missing Amy Fitzpatrick have asked police to investigate two possible suspects.

The pair - a man and a woman - both in their 40s from England were close to the 15-year-old who disappeared on New Year’s Day.

The man mysteriously left the Costa del Sol not long after the disappearance.

“He is not currently in England or Spain, but I have a pretty good idea where he is,” David Mahon told the Olive Press.

As the teenager’s sudden disappearance approaches a year, Amy’s stepfather revealed that te gave detectives information on the pair at a high level meeting last week.

After the meeting in Malaga, he said: “We originally had 12 people we were looking at, but we have now whittled it down to two.

“Both of them were close to Amy and both are English.”
“Both of them were close to Amy and both are English.”

He continued: “We have given police the information and we want them to check it out.

“These people are both suspicious, although one or both of them could be innocent.”

Both Mahon and his partner Audrey Fitzpatrick attended the high level meeting with Peter Gunning, the Irish ambassador in Spain.

Police have agreed to hold monthly meetings with the family and give progress reports.

Meanwhile a fundraising event at Pog’s Irish bar in Fuengirola raised 3000 euros for a fighting fund.

Denise Carroll, from Halpenny Bridge Bar in Benalmadena, who helped to organise the fundraiser, said: “It was a great night and thanks to all the 200 people who turned up. We’ll do all we can to help find Amy in the future.”

http://dontletthemhurtourchildren.blogspot.com/search/label/Amy%20Fitzpatrick

Irish Girl Amy Fitzpatrick has been missing since 01/01/2008 from Mijas Costa Del Sol Spain. Anyone with information should contact us at 00353857542452.



Ireland
On January 1st 2009 at 11am we will have a mass for Amy to mark one year since her disappearance in Holy Trinity Church Donaghmede.
At 12 we will be releasing a flock of White Doves to represent Peace & Unity. Two pink balloons will be released by Amy's Dad Christopher & Brother Dean to Mark one year since Amy's disappearance and 98 Blue & White balloons will be released by the family and friends for the protection by Our Lady for Amy and her family and all missing people

Spain
Amy's close friend Ashley has arranged for Amy's friends to meet at the dirt track to have a one minutes silence and to light candles for Amy at the same time as Ireland. After the one minutes silence they will play the song "Little Angel" Dedicated to Amy and all missing people. Little Angel by Donna Marie & Breeze 52 is helping Amy's Dad & Aunt raise funds to hire a private detective to keep the search for Amy going. Little Angel can be downloaded To download "Little Angel" from Ireland text 'music 1546' to 57501 text cost 99 cent.

England
Ashley has also organized with Amy's friends that have moved back to England and who are back in England for holidays over Christmas to also have a one minutes silence for Amy at the same time as Ireland and Spain.

Letter to Amy from her best friend Ashley

Dear Amy,

I logged onto your bebo page today and looked at the pictures of last Christmas. We looked so happy.

They made me remember all the good times we spent together. I left you a message, telling you all about how boring school is. I know you won't reply though. You never do.

It's been a year since you went missing, an every day since has been empty. We were so close- how could it not be?
When you first disappeared I told myself you'd taken off with some new friend, or a new boy. You were 15, and always out at some club, or chatting to people. I was sure you'd ring any minute to tell me about your latest crazy adventure. But you didn't.

When the police turned up at my house a few days later, I got scared. It suddenly seemed so serious. "Just tell us where she is" they said over and over again- even though I told them I didn't know. It was like they thought I had something to do with it!

I felt sick. I wanted them to be out looking for you - not to be sat around questioning me. They thought you'd run away and I knew where you were. I wished I did. Wherever it was, I'd have been there.

I knew you hadn't run - because you hadn't been in touch. We were so close there was no way you would leave without telling me. I'd slept with my phone under my pillow, praying you'd text or call. But the weeks went by and I didn't hear from you. I'd log onto your bebo page, hoping for some sign you were ok. But there was nothing, apart from messages from your family and friends, begging you to get in touch. The ones from your Dad on www.bebo.com/helpfinda broke my heart. He wrote, " Hi Amy its dad. Its nearly 8 weeks since you disappeared and im going out of my mind with worry."

every day id obsessively replay the day you went missing, trying to remember if you'd given me any clues. But there was nothing. It was just a normal day in town- you dragging me into burger king, us arranging to meet at mine the next day. But you never came. And when I called to find out where you were your mum said you hadn't come home the night before.

Every day is coloured by your disappearance. When friends come around for a sleepover, I think "Amy should be here with us". It feels like there's a big you-shaped hole in my life - like everyone else has got there best friend and they forget that mine is missing. Sometimes I need to be alone because I don't think they understand. I don't want to get a new boyfriend - not when I can't share it with you.

Your 16th birthday in February was so hard. You should have been with me, chatting about your party. But even though you weren't around I wanted to make a big fuss over you. Me and your other friends got balloons and wrote "Happy sweet 16 Amy" on them. We took them to our tree - the one where we used to sit and talk for hours - and let them go. I'd hoped you would find one and realise how much we missed you.

It sounds awful but sometimes I'd wish there was bad news, just so I'd know what happened. I feel like im in limbo. But most of all, I just want you back.

If you're reading this Amy, please get in touch. Your not in trouble and shouldn't be scared to come home - every one misses you so much.

I've arranged a gathering of your friends on the anniversary of the day you went missing, so we can remember how special you are. I'll never forget you, Amy, and I'll make sure no one else does either.

All my love
Ashley xxx

Official Website: www.searchforamy.com

http://www.tenerifenews.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10165:help-find-irish-girl-amy-fitzpatrick&catid=43:world-news&Itemid=161

THE mother of missing teenager Amy Fitzpatrick says she won't be celebrating Christmas this year as she continues to wait for news of her daughter's disappearance.



Amy vanished on the evening of January 1 this year, when she left her friend's house in the tourist resort of Riviera Del Sol in Spain's Costa Del Sol, to walk the 15-minute journey home.

Mother Audrey Fitzpatrick said: "As well as not being able to do it myself, I don't want to ruin it for my family as well."

She said Amy's accent had changed since the family's move to Spain. "Since living here in Spain, Amy has developed a very strong English accent as all her friends are English. So people may make the mistake of thinking that she has an Irish accent, she doesn't."

She was speaking to RTE's 'Crimecall' which travelled to Spain to talk to Ms Fitzpatrick and her partner, Dave Mahon, as they continue their search for Amy. More information is available at www.missingamy.com.


http://www.independent.ie/national-news/missing-amys-mother-renews-plea-one-year-on-1576235.html

The family of missing teenager Amy Fitzpatrick had their spirits lifted by a message from Pope Benedict.



The Pope's message of encouragement has given members of Amy's family new strength with the arrival of the first anniversary of her disappearance on New Year's Day.

Amy vanished shortly after leaving a friend's house in Spain on the night of January 1, 2008. The 15-year-old girl began to walk to her home in Calahonda, Costa del Sol in Spain, less than two km away when she vanished.

A native of Clare Hall on Dublin's northside, she had lived on the Costa del Sol with her mother, Audrey Fitzpatrick, and brother, Dean, since moving from Ireland a few years ago. An extensive police search failed to find any trace of her.

Overjoyed

Her aunt Christine Kenny recently wrote to Pope Benedict in Rome asking for prayers for the family in the search for Amy. She was overjoyed when she received a message of encouragement in a letter addressed to her home in Donaghmede in Dublin.

The letter was signed on behalf of the pope by a Mgr Gabrielle Cassia. The letter stated: "The Holy Father has received your letter and he has asked me to thank you."

He went on to write that the Pope will pray for her and for God's blessings on her and Amy's family to give them "courage and peace".

Christine and and Amy's father, Christopher, organised a special Mass at the Holy Trinity Church in Donaghmede on January 1 at 11am to mark the first anniversary of Amy's disappearance. They will release two pink balloons for Amy and 50 blue and white balloons to symbolise their devotion to the Virgin Mary as they continue to seek strength in their search.

The Coolock Family Support Group will release 20 doves at the church for peace and unity for the world at the church.

Silence

At the same time, there will be a prayer service and minute's silence organised by Amy's friends on the pathway in Spain where Amy is believed to have vanished. Friends in the UK will also light candles at the same time.

Christine and Christopher have also led a fundraising drive to pay for Irish private detective, Liam Brady, to help search for Amy.

Mr Fitzpatrick, who lives in Dublin with his son, Dean, made a new appeal for information on Mr Brady's website.

Mr Fitzpatick stated: "Not a day has gone by. . .that her family and friends have not suffered to know where Amy is.

"Whether you have direct knowledge of what happened or are simply a friend who might have heard or seen something -- please take the time to send details, no matter how insignificant they may appear."

The private detective's number for information is 086 2566697.

- Alan O'Keeffe

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/popes-message-of-peace-gives

A mother whose 15-year-old daughter who has been missing for a year has stepped up her campaign to find her.



Amy Fitzpatrick disappeared in Mijas, near Fuengirola on Spain's Costa Del Sol, where she was living with her mother, brother and her mother's partner.

They had moved there from Ireland three years earlier.

Amy spent New Year's Eve 2007 babysitting at a friend's house, from where she phoned her mother Audrey at midnight to wish her a happy 2008.

It is thought she later headed home on a dirt track which she used as a shortcut.

An extensive search was launched by the Guardia Civil, with more than 200 local and national police involved in the operation.

Now, a year on, fresh posters have been circulated and English speaking radio channels are putting out appeals in a bid to uncover new information.

Amy vanished last New Year's Day

Audrey Fitzpatrick said: "The phone call was the last I heard from her. She said happy new year, I love you and I'll see you tomorrow."

"I think about her all the time. But you can't let yourself think what might have happened because if you do the thoughts that come into your head will drive you mad.

" If you have a death in the family eventually it gets easier. But every morning I wake up it's like a death everyday and that's what you have to live through. It doesn't get easier.

Amy, described as shy shy and quiet, left Dublin for Spain in 2004 with her mother after her parents split.

Her father Chris has also made pleas on the internet for information about the missing teenager.

"She's always happy, always smiling. She's a normal teenage girl and content with everything in her life. We have stay strong and positive for her," said Mrs Fitzpatrick.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Amy-Fitzpatrick-Irish-Teenager-Missing-In-Mijas-Spain-New-Years-Appeal-For-Information/Article/200901115196217?lpos=World_News_Top_Stories_Header_2&lid=ARTICLE_15196217_Amy_Fitzpatrick%2C_Irish_Teenager_Mis

A mother whose teenage daughter vanished in Spain last New Year's Eve has stepped up her campaign to find her.
Amy Fitzpatrick, 15, went missing in Mijas, near Fuengirola on the Costa Del Sol where she had been living with her mother, stepfather and brother.

Amy, who comes from Ireland, had been babysitting at a friend's house and phoned mother Audrey at midnight to wish her happy new year and is thought to have headed home via a dirt track.
The ensuing search involved more than 200 police officers.
Mrs Fitzpatrick has refused to give up and this year organised fresh posters and new appeals on radio stations.
Today, the family held a special mass in Ireland to mark one year since the teenager vanished.

Mrs Fitzpatrick said: 'The phone call was the last I heard from her. She said 'happy New Year, I love you and I'll see you tomorrow'.

'I think about her all the time. But you can't let yourself think what might have happened because if you do the thoughts that come into your head will drive you mad.

'If you have a death in the family eventually it gets easier. But every morning I wake up it's like a death everyday and that's what you have to live through. It doesn't get easier.'
Amy had left Dublin for Spain with her family in 2004 after her parents split up. Her father has also appealed for her safe return.

Desperate: Amy's mother Audrey breaks down at a press conference
'She's always happy, always smiling. She's a normal teenage girl and content with everything in her life. We have stay strong and positive for her,' her mother said.
Police are now planning to contact all 3,000 people Amy had been in touch with online in a bid to track her down.

Her mother said: 'We're turning over every stone at this stage, we'd stand on our heads if it would help.'
She also begged her daughter to make contact with someone, even if she does not want to come home.


'If she never wants to talk to me again in her life that's fine -- I just want to know that she's safe, she's not in trouble - we just want her to come home,' she said.
<Hunt: An officer from Spain's Civil Guard searches for the teenager.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1103845/Mother-girl-15-vanished-Costa-Del-Sol-New-Year-steps-campaign-her.html