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Mystery of the St Mellons 5: Volunteers find survivors before the police as Internet inquest begins

The bodies of Darcy Ross, 21, Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Eve Smith, 21, were found in a car accident in St Mellons, Cardiff on March 6, 2023, 46 hours after they were last seen

CARDIFF, WALES: It remains a mystery why it took police almost two days to locate five friends who were involved in a car wreck following a night out in which three of them died. The bodies of three victims, Darcy Ross, 21, Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Eve Smith, 21, were found in a car accident in St Mellons, Cardiff, on Monday, March 6, 2023, 46 hours after they were last seen. The other two passengers -- Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32 -- are currently admitted to a hospital. 

Numerous people took part in the search, but Gwent police failed to make a public call for assistance until 11 pm on Sunday. Reports say Russon's mother desperately searched for her daughter driving around South Wales for two days after police told her to "stop calling." The vehicle was eventually found on Monday just after midnight, reports The Guardian. The car had left the path and stopped in a small group of evergreen trees, hidden from the homes and a bustling garden center.

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Other volunteers, who joined the hunt for the missing five friends, said that a dog walker discovering the wreckage before police "speaks volumes." Since then, South Wales Police and Gwent Police reported the issue to the Independent Office For Police Conduct. Mother-of-three Anna Certowicz was among 200 people looking for daughter Sophie, her friends Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, and two men identified as Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Shane Loughlin, 32. She disclosed that her daughter was "conscious some of the time" in the car after it crashed off the A48 in Cardiff and "called out but no one was close enough to hear her," reports Daily Mail.

'The search party found the girls before the police'

Numerous family members of the five left floral tributes and balloons near the copse on Monday. Many of them insisted that the vehicle was discovered by people who were part of the search party despite Gwent police claiming a police helicopter found it. Caretaker Tamzin Samuels, 20, who joined the search for her friends, said, "I do think the police could have done a lot more – put up the helicopter earlier. They only posted an appeal an hour before the girls were found. The search party found the girls before the police. I think that speaks volumes, really. It’s so public [the crash site] – a main roundabout, a main road." She added, "These girls were so popular. They were the life of the party. Darcy lived life to the fullest. She was great. Eve had a smile that could brighten a room as soon as she walked in. A real feisty, independent girl but everyone loved her just as much," reports The Guardian.

'Why did it take so long to find them?'

Another friend, Rhian Taylor, 26, stated, "Those poor young girls could have been saved if they were found earlier. Thousands of people must have driven past. Why did it take so long to find them?" A friend of the Loughlin family said, "The police were terrible. I don’t think they took it seriously. The families said it was out of character for them to go missing. The police should have listened."

'Modern phones can track you everywhere and they couldn't find 5 in one place?'

The authorities were criticized heavily on the Internet for taking too long to locate the wreckage. A user tweeted, "It begs the question, had they been found sooner could the 3 have survived? So tragic, RIP." Another user wrote, "Police need to answer questions as to why they were so slow off the mark finding them ?"

While speaking with Talk TV, Kevin O'Sullivan slammed Cardiff police for not doing much to help find the five friends. He said, "They have this tendency to just dismiss people!"

"The police were so unconcerned, the families had to mount their own search. Why pay high taxes for policing when frequently now it’s do it yourself?" remarked another user. Another person noted, "Modern phones can track you everywhere and they couldn't find 5 in one place? All seems a bit iffy!"

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.