Heartbroken parents of woman, 22, who vanished two years ago 'will sell home' to fund private investigator after accusing police of botching an investigation into her disappearance

• Catrin Maguire went missing after buying a return ticket to home town Holyhead
• North Wales Police has admitted ‘unacceptable’ failings in their inquiries

The heartbroken parents of a woman who vanished two years ago say they will sell their home to fund a private investigator as they accused police of botching a probe into her disappearance.

Catrin Maguire, 22, went missing after buying a return ticket to her home town of Holyhead in Anglesey, Wales – leaving her parents desperate for information.

Gerry and Wendy Maguire have vowed to never give up their search after a reported sighting of her in a camper van and are now planning a separate new inquiry after they ‘lost faith’ in police.

The move comes after North Wales Police released a damning report about the force’s own work on the case, finding six ‘unacceptable’ failings in their investigation.

Catrin was described as a ‘happy-go-lucky’ university student with no known mental health issues before her disappearance in November 2021.

The parents of Catrin Maguire (pictured) want a new investigation into her disappearance

Gerry and Wendy Maguire say they will remortgage or sell their home if necessary

Ms Maguire, 21, was last seen on November 15, 2021, after returning to home town Holyhead

She was last seen at 1.18pm on November 15 that year, walking near the café of the South Stack Cliffs RSPB nature reserve after catching a train home from university.

But the family say a number of new leads have come forward – and that they have ‘lost faith’ in any police investigation after not being told of possible sightings.

The family want to hire a private investigation team to examine, saying the team would be ‘starting afresh’ after the police probe’s failings.

Mr and Mrs Maguire hope a £25,000 fundraiser will help cover the costs – but if it fails to do so, they will consider remortgaging or selling their house for the money.

Mr Maguire said: ‘We feel that passionately that we need answers and closure – it’s the only way forward.’

Any money left over from the GoFundMe appeal will be donated to Mon-SAR rescue team, Holyhead RNLI and Missing People UK.

Catrin’s parents, who believe she is still alive, issued a message to her saying: ‘Wherever you are, whatever has happened, just get in touch. Let us know you’re safe. We miss you terribly. We love you and want you home and back with us.’

Catrin is described as being about 5ft 5in with a slim build.

On the day she disappeared she was wearing a black duffel coat and was carrying a light-coloured handbag.

Mr Maguire, 52, from Holyhead in Anglesey, said she travelled back to her home town from university in Bangor and had a return ticket.

He said: ‘A witness has told us he saw Catrin at around 4.30pm to 4.45pm that day at the bottom car park of South Stack. He reported it to the police but this information was not relayed to us at the time.’

Catrin’s family and their friends have spent a huge amount of time searching for her, both in Holyhead and Bangor.

Catrin Maguire had travelled back to home town from university in Bangor on a return ticket

When she disappeared she was wearing a black duffel coat and had a light-coloured handbag

They have distributed countless flyers and posters around both areas and spoken to students at the university, but the disappearance remains a mystery.

Another witness recently came forward to the family about a reported sighting of Catrin on New Year’s Day 2022 in Holyhead Breakwater Country Park.

Mr Maguire said: ‘She saw a woman of exactly Catrin’s description getting out of a red campervan with a man, and he had two young children.

‘She was that concerned, thinking this was the person being searched for, that she called 101. The operator took her information and never got back. We weren’t told.’

It took months for Mr Maguire, who has a removals business, and his wife, a local authority employee, to return to work.

He said: ‘People ask how we manage. We don’t. We put one foot in front of the other.’

Mrs Maguire said: ‘Even when you go on holiday it’s always there.

‘When you have a nice time you think, “Do I feel guilty now? Why should I be smiling? Catrin is missing and I’m out with friends.”‘

In an internal report, North Wales Police admitted failings in its response as well as upholding allegations that three officers in the missing person case showed an ‘unprofessional attitude and disrespect’.

The force also said there were failings over the lack of a family liaison officer and over the performance of a call handler.

The professional standards report was drawn up by North Wales Police after a complaint on behalf of Mrs Maguire’s family by Ynys Môn MP Virginia Crosbie.

North Wales Police’s Chief Supt Sian Beck said in a statement, when the force was contacted by MailOnline: ‘Our thoughts remain with Catrin’s family.

‘We understand their need to find out what has happened and we will continue to review any further information we receive.

‘We would appeal to anyone with information that hasn’t already been shared with us to contact us quoting reference 40695.’

North Wales Police deputy chief constable Nigel Harrison previously said last November: ‘Following concerns raised by Catrin’s family an internal investigation concluded that the level of service they received in some aspects of our engagement with them fell below the standard we would expect and which they deserved.

‘I would like to apologise to them for the distress this caused. Sadly at this moment in time there is no further information available which would enable us to progress the case further but should any come to light it will be reviewed.’

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