Gwent Police

2023 - 3 - 6

Post cover — Image courtesy of "WalesOnline"

Live updates as vigil planned for three people killed in A48 crash (WalesOnline)

Eve Smith, Darcy Ross and Rafel Jeanne died in the crash and two others have been seriously injured.

Floral tributes have been left at the scene of the crash. Here are aerial photographs of the scene at the A48. A stream of people have arrived throughout the course of Monday at the spot where the car was found. The victims of the crash have been named by their loved ones. A friend of Miss Ross and Miss Smith wrote: "I don't really have the words right now. Referrals have been made by Gwent Police and South Wales Police to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. 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. There are also reports that it was a member of the public who found the wreckage but this has not been confirmed by police. A statement added: "The five individuals were the subject of enquiries by Gwent Police following a missing person report made during the evening of Saturday 4th March. They were with Shane Loughlin, 32, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, from Cardiff, and the five were last seen in the Llanedeyrn area of Cardiff at 2am on Saturday. A vigil is being planned at the site at 6pm on Tuesday.

Cardiff car crash: Mum criticises two-day search to find group (BBC News)

Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21 and Rafel Jeanne, 24, died after the crash near a major road in Cardiff and Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, were hurt ...

"It's just a copse of trees and a ditch," he said. She previously told the Mail: "They didn't seem to care. "Normally she would have phoned me in the early hours of the morning and asked for a lift but she didn't," she said. She remains in a serious condition on Tuesday morning. Howard Dainton, 72, said the crash scene was in a wooded area and "no one walks down there because it's hard to get in that area on foot". The women, from Newport, had gone to The Muffler club in the Maesglas area of the city late on Friday. "They were really popular girls, the life of the party, and it was really out of character for them to do what they did, which is why we knew something was wrong." "A subsequent missing person report in respect of one of the individuals was made to South Wales Police on Sunday," it added. Former Met police officer, Peter Bleksley, said: "On the face of it, with suitably resourced officers and the technology available, this should be a fairly straightforward kind of investigation to find the vehicle and the occupants. Speaking from the scene, Tamzin Samuels, 20, a friend of the three women, said police "only posted the appeal an hour before the girls were found". The IOPC said it was "urgently carrying out an assessment of referrals received yesterday [Monday] from Gwent Police and South Wales Police to determine what action may be required from us". Newport West MP Ruth Jones said she understood the "consternation at the delay in apparently finding them" but people "need to hold fire and wait".

Watchdog steps up investigation of police response to Cardiff car ... (The Guardian)

Gwent and South Wales police under scrutiny after five young people lay undiscovered for up to 46 hours.

We will continue to support the investigation and would ask members of the public to refrain from speculation during this period.” Family and friends continued to visit the spot where the car was found on Tuesday to leave floral tributes, pictures and balloons. The desperation of some of those involved in the search was shown by the fact that some turned to a medium for help. There was a two-minute silence before dozens of fireworks were fired into the night sky, balloons were released and blue and red flares were lit. According to Pace, the officer reported it and the police helicopter was directed to the spot. [South Wales police said they received](https://www.south-wales.police.uk/police-forces/south-wales-police/areas/campaigns/campaigns/missing-matters/#:~:text=Someone%20is%20reported%20missing%20every,reported%20as%20missing%20to%20us) on average more than 8,000 missing person reports every year – more than 20 a day. We will also consider what communication took place between the two forces, and whether police action was appropriate.” They said: “We request that our privacy is respected and we are allowed to grieve in peace. The IOPC announced it would investigate police actions after the missing persons reports. Despite police issuing their timeline, there continue to be conflicting claims about how the car was found. Another missing person report was made to South Wales police at 5.37pm on Sunday. Eve Smith and Darcy Ross, both 21, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, were found dead in the car off the A48(M) in St Mellons, Cardiff.

Cardiff car crash: A timeline of what we know so far as police admit ... (Sky News)

Gwent and South Wales Police have come under heavy criticism over the time it took to find the wreckage. Police issued a public appeal for help on Sunday ...

Officers believe the vehicle was involved in a road traffic collision, but it is not clear exactly when that happened. Police issued a public appeal for help on Sunday night at 11pm - more than a day after the first missing person's report was made. Gwent Police say officers on the ground had sight of the car at 12.02am and and a log was created by South Wales Police at 12.15am. Police say at 11.50pm a police helicopter was requested to search an area of Cardiff which resulted in a vehicle being located in a wooded area off of the A48(M). South Wales Police and Gwent Police said in a joint statement that the collision occurred "during the early hours" of Saturday morning, with the exact time yet to be confirmed by the investigation. And now the forces have confirmed the timings of missing person reports it received - the earliest of which came in more than a day before a public appeal was launched, and the vehicle was eventually found.

Cardiff fatal crash: Gwent Police refers self to IOPC (South Wales Argus)

Police watchdog the IOPC will investigate Gwent Police's involvement in a missing persons case linked to a fatal crash between Newport and Cardiff.

[On Monday, however, Gwent Police announced the group's car had been found](https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/23364604.newport-police-say-three-dead-search-missing-group/), along with the five members of the group, near a roundabout on the A48 road in St Mellons. The force would not confirm to the Argus the specific grounds for the referral, but the IOPC website states police forces must refer themselves to the watchdog in certain circumstances. [Three of them had been pronounced dead, and two had been taken to hospital](https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/23365128.cardiff-crash-facebook-tribute-reported-newport-victims/) with serious injuries. Why do police forces refer themselves to the IOPC? Two police forces responding to the case GWENT Police has referred itself to the police watchdog following its response to a missing persons report linked to a fatal crash.

Latest Statement: Fatal RTC St Mellons, Cardiff: Joint statement from ... (Gwent Police)

South Wales Police is continuing to investigate a fatal road traffic collision on the A48 in the St Mellons area of Cardiff.

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Police forces under investigation for response to missing car crash ... (The Irish News)

Eve Smith and Darcy Ross, both 21, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, died in the collision in Cardiff, while Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, survived.

Ms Smith's death comes eight years after her sister Xana Doyle, 19, was killed in a car crash. “They only posted the appeal an hour before the girls were found. “It's heart breaking what's happened to Rafel Jeanne and those two girls. They added: “We want to allow Gwent Police and South Wales Police the time and space to investigate the matter in a thorough and professional way and to enable the Independent Office for Police Conduct thereafter to come to their own conclusions.” We found them before the police found them – we rang the police.” In a joint statement, Gwent and South Wales Police said a police helicopter was asked to search an area of Cardiff at 11.50pm on Sunday, which the forces said led to the vehicle being found 25 minutes later.