Mother keeps vigil in Mijas on Missing Person’s Day

The mother of missing Irish girl Amy Fitzpatrick returned to La Cala de Mijas to honour National Missing Person’s Day, commemorated in Spain each year on March 9. 

Audrey Fitzpatrick was personally invited to the Garden of Hope in La Cala by Mayor Juan Carlos Maldonado. 

There, close to the school Amy attended before she disappeared aged just 15, is a beautiful tribute to her and four others who have gone missing from Mijas: Juan Antonio Gomez, Isabel Cortes, Francisco Ruiz, and John Leach. 

Amy last spoke to her mother more than eight years ago on New Year’s Eve 2007. Since then, Audrey has been tenaciously fighting on her daughter’s behalf, travelling throughout the region publicising the case in the hope that someone somewhere will recognise Amy’s bright blue eyes. 

Audrey told the Euro Weekly News that the Spanish people and expatriates have been wonderful in their support. She is in regular contact with the Guardia Civil who are resolutely treating Amy’s case as open and active, determined to get to the bottom of her mysterious disappearance. 

By all accounts Amy was a well loved and cherished member of the local community, and Audrey is met on every trip to Spain by empathetic residents who remember her fondly and offer their prayers. 

Looking around the Garden of Hope you can feel the poignant sentiment from the site of five olive trees. Amy’s is adorned with Irish memorabilia, photos and handmade ornaments, freshly kept throughout the year. 

Amy would now still be a young woman aged 24. Her Irish eyes and distinctive looks should easily make her highly recognisable even after all this time. As her mother says, let us not forget her and hope for her safe return.