Gardai to send CCTV footage to UK to help solve Esra case
GARDAI are preparing to send CCTV footage back to the UK, which could help in solving a missing persons case.
Esra Uryun, who was 38 at the time, vanished after leaving her home in Clondalkin 12-years ago.
On February 23, 2011, Esra left her Collinstown Grove home in Neilstown at 7.20am to get milk for her husband Osgar and son Emin, but never returned.
The Grey Renault Twingo she shared with her husband, was found later that day on the promenade in Bray.
Esra’s purse containing €50-60, was found in the boot on the car.
A major frustration in the case is that CCTV footage has not been able to verify who was driving the car in Bray, despite it being looked at in Ireland and the UK over the years.
Berna Fidan, Esra’s sister, who has travelled over to Dublin from her home in London over 40 times since the disappearance in an effort to uncover the truth, firmly suspects foul play.
Speaking to The Echo this week, as she was followed by a TG4 crew who are filming a documentary to be screened later this year, Berna was happy that gardai in Ronanstown wanted to speak with her.
Meeting a Garda Superintendent presented Berna an opportunity to press for the CCTV footage to be looked at again.
Esra’s purse
“It went ok. They have promised to look at the case from the beginning, and in the upcoming weeks get the CCTV to be sent back to the UK, and use a different company to see if they can have it enhanced. So fingers crossed,” said Berna.
The footage was examined once before in 2015 by a company in the UK, who said at the time they couldn’t do anything.
With advances in technology, Berna is hopeful that it will finally lead to some answers.
A key element of the case is Esra left the house at 7.20am. CCTV footage picked up the car at the Power City roundabout at approximately 8am – but this is a journey that should take less than five minutes.
CCTV footage is unable to identify the driver at the roundabout, nor is it able to identify the driver in Bray.
Berna suspects foul play, noting the aggressive driving manner of the Twingo in Bray, and a near collision with an unidentified Skoda driver, which she feels is more characteristic of a male driver.
“It was mid-term at the time she went missing, not many cars were on the road but it doesn’t take one hour and 50 minutes to get from Clondalkin to Bray. My dispute is, is she still in the car when it gets to Bray? The timeline makes it a bigger doubt. Did something happen? At the end of the day, it is still an open case.”
Berna appeals for anyone with information to email missingesra@gmail.com, or contact the National Missing Persons 1800 911 999, or the Garda confidential line 1800 666 111.