Annie being harassed by violent man'

>> Fresh insight into 1993 disappearance >> 27-year-old hit by male', friends reveal

- SYLVIA POWNALL

MURDERED Annie McCarrick was assaulted by someone she knew in the weeks before her disappearance, it has been claimed.

The American woman's friends and family have revealed she was being harassed by a man who was physically violent to her shortly before she went missing 30 years ago.

A new true crime documentary focusing on the cases of several missing women raises fresh questions and suggests that a serial killer may have been at large.

The RTE series reveals Annie's family and friends tried to highlight concerns that someone she knew had struck her before she went missing.

But gardai involved in the original investigation told the programme the information was not brought to their attention at the time of her disappearance.

Annie's mother Nancy McCarrick told the documentary: "We found out from her friends that she had been having quite a bit of difficulty with someone she knew.

UNAWARE

"We were totally unaware of that. She hadn't let us know about it.

"I guess she thought she could handle it herself and things would be alright." Tragic Long Island native Annie, who was an only child, vanished without a trace after telling friends she was heading for a walk in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on March 26, 1993.

The last confirmed sighting of the 27-year-old was captured on CCTV shortly before 11am at the AIB on Sandymount Road on the day she went missing.

There were also reported sightings of her boarding the No 44 bus for Enniskerry, and she was also allegedly spotted in the village and at Johnny Fox's pub.

But the true crime series presents fresh evidence that Annie was seen with a man in Poppie's cafe in Enniskerry on the day she disappeared.

Una Wogan told the programme her late mother Margaret saw the American woman mid-afternoon as she was about to leave work.