Gardaí last night said they had identified a girl found on O’Connell Street in Dublin last month following the release of her photograph yesterday morning.
Gardaí said they were following a definite line of inquiry and would be liaising closely with the Australian police and the HSE to finalise the matter.
They said “no further assistance is required” from the public and the media at this time.
The High Court last week granted the Garda permission to release information about the teenager, believed to be aged 14 or 15, who was found in a distressed state outside the GPO on October 10th.
Gardaí said they had reached “an impasse” and had received no information from the public on the matter before yesterday’s release of the photo.
Before her identity had been confirmed, a senior Garda source said they were “very happy” with the response of the public throughout yesterday.
“We’re also quite happy with the quality of information that has been provided since we broke this,” said the source.
“We’re happy with the quality of phone calls we got and we’re following up on information that has been given to us. It needs to be drilled down and fleshed out a bit more but we’re happy with what we’re getting at the moment.”
One line of inquiry is the possibility that the girl – who is not Irish but of “European extraction” – may have been trafficked into the country.
Clothes
At a press conference yesterday, Supt David Taylor said gardaí had established the clothes she was found wearing were purchased in "major Irish retailers".
The teenager is described as 5ft 6in in height, of a slim build, and having long blonde hair. When found, she was wearing a purple hooded top, tight dark coloured jeans, flat black shoes, and a grey woollen jumper.
“We understand that the clothes were purchased in major Irish retailers,” he said. “We have carried out extensive inquiries but we have been unable to determine when these clothes were bought.”
The girl has been fitted with braces on her teeth and gardaí said they have canvassed paediatric orthodontists nationwide for information. “Maybe she got treatment in another jurisdiction so we’re hoping some professional might come forward and say they treated the child,” said Supt Taylor. He added there is “nothing particularly characteristic” about the braces.
Gardaí have “engaged” with the girl, who has limited English, but they have been unable to identify her or her country of origin. Specialist child interviewers have been utilised by investigators.
Supt Taylor said the Garda investigation into the matter – dubbed Operation Shepard – had been “huge”. It has involved over 2,000 hours and been conducted in collaboration with a number of agencies including Interpol, the Garda National Immigration Bureau and the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit.
Some 115 lines of inquiry have been followed, including the canvassing of airports, ports and train stations. Guesthouses and B&Bs in the city centre have been contacted and checked for individuals who made bookings and failed to turn up.
Missing persons list
CCTV footage from the area the girl was found as well as from around the city have been trawled through – while the Garda Pulse system and missing persons list have also been examined.
As a result of these inquiries, 15 possible names were provided to investigators – but all of these were checked and proved fruitless.
