“They didn’t seem to care. I had to drive to Cardiff to knock on doors myself because they were doing sod all. They just didn’t seem to think it was worth investigating. It was so frustrating.”
- We found them before police, say friends of crash victims
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- A48 in south Wales closed in both directions as police cordon crash area
Sophie Russon, 20, Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Shane Loughlin, 32, were last seen at about 02:00 GMT on Saturday in Cardiff.
Family and friends made repeated appeals to find the missing group over the course of the weekend, with the mother of one of the girls saying she had been told to stop contacting police for updates.
A friend of the victims of a fatal car crash in Cardiff has criticised the police search efforts, claiming members of the public found the vehicle before officers.
The car was found near a busy roundabout close to a garden centre.
A long police cordon marked out the crash scene at what would normally be a busy stretch of dual carriageway, connecting Cardiff and Newport.
Just below the slipway, down a small bank is a wooded area where the car was discovered. Officers have been working there, hidden from view by the trees, recovering the bodies and investigating the scene.
One resident said the area was hard to reach on foot and was in an area where “no one walks”.
The car was removed on a truck just before 13:00, with the vehicle covered over by police and the road reopened an hour later.
Police will be trying to establish exactly when the car crashed there following the last sighting of the group, and why it took until the early hours of Monday for it to be discovered some 46 hours later.
Near the scene, people have laid flowers.
A woman who lives nearby said many people felt shocked after waking up to hear about the tragedy.
Another local resident said:
“The thought of being trapped in there for so long with your friends, seeing the light of day and dark cold nights, it just makes me want to cry for them all, those poor kids, how can this happen this day and age”
“It could have been anyone’s kids. It could have been mine.”
Over the weekend, family and friends of the missing group appealed numerous times on social media to find them.
The women, from Newport, had gone to The Muffler club in the Maesglas area of the city late on Friday.
They then travelled 36 miles (58km) to Trecco Bay, a caravan park in the seaside resort of Porthcawl, Bridgend county, with the two men, both from Cardiff.
A Snapchat photo shared by Ms Ross’ sister showed her and Mr Jeanne together on the night they went missing.
The group was last seen in Llanedeyrn, Cardiff, in the early hours of Saturday, but it is not yet clear when the crash happened.
Ms Russon’s mother, Anna Certowicz, 42, was driving around in a desperate search for her daughter after police officers told her to “stop ringing” the station for updates.
She told the Daily Mail: “They didn’t seem to care. I had to drive to Cardiff to knock on doors myself because they were doing sod all. They just didn’t seem to think it was worth investigating. It was so frustrating.”
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A temporary fence was put up at the side of the carriageway where officers concentrated their investigation.
Before the car was found, one of the girls’ aunts said there had been “no contact and no social media presence since the early hours of Saturday morning”.
In an appeal to find them, Tori Preece shared a message on Facebook saying that “all of the families involved are extremely concerned”.
“They are not girls who take unnecessary risks and are always in close contact with their families,” she wrote.
Ms Preece shared a post from Lauren Doyle who said it was “unusual” the girls had not made contact and friends and families were “worried sick and thinking the worst”.
Specialist officers are supporting the families, police said.
The case has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in line with normal procedure.
The IOPC said: “We will carry out an assessment in due course to determine what further action may be required from us.”
Gwent Police has confirmed South Wales Police was investigating the crash.
South Wales Police said it received a call at 00:15 “to a report of a car being located” off the A48 in St Mellons.
“Our thoughts are with the those affected by this incident,” it said.
St Mellons resident Howard Dainton, 72, said the scene of the crash was in a wooded area.
“No one walks down there because it’s hard to get in that area on foot,” he said.
“It’s just a copse of trees and a ditch and behind that farmer fields.
“It’s very sad.”
One friend, Tamzin Samuels, 20 was quoted as saying by Sky News: “I do think the police could have done a lot more in putting the helicopters out earlier. They only posted the appeal an hour before the girls were found.
“We found them before the police found them – we rang the police.
“The search party found the girls before the police found the girls. I think that speaks volumes really, they had all that equipment, and we had cars when we were looking.”
South Wales Police have made the following statement whilst turnign off commenting on their social media
South Wales Police is continuing to investigate a fatal road traffic collision on the A48 in the St Mellons area of Cardiff.
Emergency services discovered a Volkswagen Tiguan vehicle at 12.15am on Monday 6th March after the police helicopter, police and fire officers were deployed to the scene.
Formal identification has taken place this afternoon and three people who died in the collision have been confirmed as being Rafel Jeanne, aged 24, from Cardiff, Eve Smith, 21, from Newport, and Darcy Ross, 21, from Newport.
Two further people were taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff where they remain in a critical condition.
Investigations are ongoing to determine the circumstances of the incident, including when the collision took place. The five individuals were the subject of enquiries by Gwent Police following a missing person report made during the evening of Saturday 4th March. A subsequent missing person report in respect of one of the individuals was made to South Wales Police on Sunday 5th March. Referrals have been made by Gwent Police and South Wales Police to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
The last confirmed sighting of the five was during the early hours of Saturday morning.
Assistant Chief Constable Jason Davies of South Wales Police said:
“Our thoughts are with the families of all those affected by this tragic incident. Specialist officers are carrying out an investigation to piece together what has happened. Family liaison officers are supporting the families involved at what must be a hugely difficult time for them.
“To ensure independent oversight, South Wales Police has referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, as is usual in these circumstances.”