PSNI DETECTIVES INVESTIGATING the suspected murder of a woman who went missing from Limerick have been granted additional time to question a man arrested in relation to the case.

Carrie Mullane, also known as Carrie Noonan, travelled to Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh on 10 October but has not been seen in a number of weeks.

The 39-year-old hadn’t been in touch with family or friends, leading the PSNI to classify it as a ‘high risk’ missing person case.

The PSNI said on Monday that it had been carrying out extensive enquiries as part of ongoing efforts to establish Carrie’s whereabouts and welfare.

But in an update on Wednesday, the PSNI said that trawls of CCTV, house-to-house enquiries and interviewing of potential witnesses had so far not yielded any success in locating Carrie.

The PSNI said this resulted in the force holding “serious concern that Carrie may have been the victim of a violent crime and may in fact have been murdered sometime after her arrival in Northern Ireland”.

The PSNI added that “on that basis, we have arrested a 35-year-old man on suspicion of her murder”.

A spokesperson acknowledged that this development would have been “devastating” for Carrie’s loved ones, and said that two Family Liaison Officers were sent to Limerick to meet with them and to “explain why PSNI enquiries have led us to this point”.

In a further update today, a PSNI spokesperson said that “detectives investigating the suspected murder of Carrie Mullane in the Enniskillen area have been granted a court extension of an additional 36 hours to question a man arrested on suspicion of murder”.

The spokesperson added that the investigation is “continuing at pace, and there is no further information at this time”.

Last known movements

In Monday’s missing person statement, the PSNI said Carrie had travelled by bus from Limerick to Enniskillen in Co Fermanagh on Saturday 10 October, alongside a male friend.

Carrie and her travel companion are known to have taken a taxi from the bus station on Wellington Road to Trasna Park at around 9pm.

From here, her movements are unknown.

However, it has been suggested that she may have travelled on to Derry the following day, 11 October.

The PSNI has noted that this has not been confirmed.

Concern for her welfare was reported to the PSNI by An Garda Síochána on 29 October.

When last seen at the bus depot Carrie, who is 5ft 6in tall, of slim build with shoulder-length brown hair, was wearing a blue waist-length jacket, light blue jeans, white trainers and carrying a pink shoulder bag and an orange-coloured shopping bag.