Sydney, Mar. 27, 2022 /Medianet/ —
Media release
Sunday 27 March 2022
For immediate release
“We’ll never stop searching”: Twenty years on family of missing teen Niamh Maye renew calls for information
Dedicated website launched as family announces podcast in development by award winning true crime producers Casefile
Statement from the family of Niamh Maye
This year marks twenty years since the disappearance of our much-loved daughter, sister and aunt, Niamh Maye. On this incredibly difficult anniversary we are renewing calls for answers in the search for what happened after she was last seen on Easter Saturday, 30 March in 2002.
The impact of these past twenty years is difficult to articulate. All of us, including Niamh’s parents and six siblings live every day in her honour whilst bearing a gaping hole in our family and lives. We have gone on to finish university degrees, build careers, live overseas, get married and add several more members to our family – most of whom never got to meet their Auntie Niamh.
While we move forward with our lives, we will never give up our search for answers to the many unanswered questions that remain. Today we are launching missingniamh.com – a website dedicated to telling Niamh’s story and urging members of the public to come forward with any information that may help us understand what happened to Niamh.
We can also announce that we’re working with the award-winning team behind Casefile to create a podcast called “Missing Niamh” detailing the events surrounding Niamh’s disappearance and will be able to provide more information in the coming months. In the meantime, we urge anyone who has any information they think may help, to visit missingniamh.com and get in touch.
The sadness, pain and difficulty of dealing with the complexities that surround losing someone in such tragic and traumatic circumstances has been ongoing now for two decades for our entire family. We share Niamh’s story in our search for answers and ask that media reporting shows that Niamh is remembered as the highly intelligent, artistic and kind eighteen-year-old that we will always love.
We want to thank all the people who have come forward with information or helped with searches over the years and we continue to urge members of the public to contact Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit missingniamh.com with any relevant information that may help lead to answers.
Quotes from the family of Niamh Maye
Anne and Brian Maye – Parents of Niamh, Sydney based
● Available for media interview upon request.
● Niamh’s mother, 81-year-old Anne Maye: “We have never given up hope that we might be able to bring Niamh home and give her a proper resting place. We hope that with new ways of spreading the word and gathering information, like podcasts, we might be able to get some answers. She has always been with us and always will be.”
● Niamh’s father, 81-year-old Brian Maye: “Niamh is always with us in spirit and we will always honour the 18 years she filled us with her brightness. We miss our loving, cheeky, creative, fun daughter, sister and aunt. We hope one day we can bring her home.”
Susan Maye – Sister of Niamh, Melbourne based
● Not available for interview
“I miss my baby sister and best friend and always will. I still find myself reaching for her wisdom at times and I constantly wonder at all she might have become, what her life might have looked like. I struggle with the family moments with a gaping hole where she should be. It is devastating to me that Niamh was so brutally taken from us and we have not been able to bring her home, particularly as our parents age. A young woman on the cusp of adulthood should have been safe. We won’t ever give up on seeking the answers we need.”
Fionnuala Hagerty – Sister of Niamh, Sydney based
● Available for interview upon request
“Twenty years sounds like such a long time, but it is also still very fresh for our family and Niamh’s friends. We still miss her every day and would love to find answers to what happened to her. She should have been able to travel safely home that Easter. She would not give up on any of us, so we’re still advocating for her. Our hope is that by sharing her story via a website and podcast we might just reach the people who can give us the information we need to get some sort of resolution.”
Background on the disappearance of Niamh Maye
Niamh was the much-loved youngest child in a family of seven children who grew up in Armidale, northern New South Wales. A highly intelligent and talented student, artist and photographer, Niamh completed her HSC in 2001 achieving the highest university admission index in her school.
After finishing school, she took a gap year before university and embarked on a working holiday fruit-picking down south in Batlow, New South Wales. As Easter 2002 approached, Niamh made plans to travel to Sydney to meet her sister Fionnuala, so they could travel back to Armidale for Easter with their family.
But Niamh never made it home. Investigations have now spanned two decades. There are many theories about what might have happened. Numerous reported sightings of her have so far led nowhere.
For the past 20 years, Niamh’s family has never stopped looking for her. Working with Niamh’s family, Casefile has done a deep dive into her disappearance in the hope a podcast series with an international reach might bring her family some much needed answers. The podcast is currently in development and will be launched later this year.
ENDS
For interview requests with the family of Niamh Maye please contact:
Fionnuala Hagerty, sister of Niamh Maye
● Mobile: 0432 797 579
● Email: fionnuala.maye@gmail.com
For imagery of Niamh Maye not made public previously:
https://senateshj.digitalpigeon.com/shr/hcOSgKo4EeytJwYDiXoB6w/MEGAw_YV2jY82XjuBlkiww
For further information on the importance of advocacy for long-term missing persons:
Loren O’Keeffe, Founder and CEO of the Missing Persons Advocacy Network
● Mobile: 0405 102 831
● Email: loren@mpan.com.au
About the Missing Persons Advocacy Network (MPAN)
MPAN is a registered Australian charity that creates awareness for missing persons and provides practical and emotional support to their families and friends. MPAN exists to alleviate the financial, administrative and psychological impact on those searching for a loved one.
MPAN’s previous campaigns to raise awareness include Casefile’s What’s Missing podcast, The Unmissables campaign, Missed Birthdays, and the Too Short Stories initiative. MPAN was established in 2013 by Loren O’Keeffe, whose brother Dan went missing in July 2011.
For further information on MPAN visit: mpan.com.au