The Cold Case Files (14 page)

There were only two ways for Brooke’s abductors to drive his van from Castle Cove to Derreennageeha Forest. Gardaí later drove both journeys and, based on all the information they
have, one theory is favoured over the other. While it is technically possible that Brooke’s van could have been driven east of Castle Cove along the Ring of Kerry towards Sneem and then high
up into the mountains, this journey would have been more awkward and taken almost an hour. The more logical route for the abductors would have been to come out of White Strand car park and turn
left, heading west along the Ring of Kerry through Castle Cove and passing just a short distance from Brooke’s home, which was up a hill to the right. Keeping on the
N
70, the van would have driven through the village of Caherdaniel before entering the coastal town of Waterville. From there the van would have taken a right and driven high up the
mountains, eventually passing over Lisatinnig Bridge close to the source of the River Inny Just a mile further on is Derreennageeha Forest, which lies at the foothills of two impressive
mountains—Knocknacusha and Knocknagapple. The journey from Castle Cove through Waterville to this location is almost 27 miles and takes 45 minutes. It’s much quicker and more convenient
than coming from the east. There are no houses for miles. Derreennageeha Forest is one of the most remote places you could find. And it is here that Brooke Pickard’s van was set on fire. It
is also entirely possible that it is here or very close to here that Brooke was murdered and his body hidden.

If Brooke Pickard’s body lies hidden in this part of Co. Kerry, only a major search using the latest technology may find him. An extensive search of the terrain in 1991 did not locate any
trace of Brooke, but search techniques and expertise have developed and improved significantly in the last twenty years, and specialist equipment has also advanced. A full and extensive new search
of the terrain around Derreennageeha must be undertaken.

Penny Pickard has never been to the spot where her husband’s van was found abandoned. She knows generally where it is, some miles north-east of Waterville, but she has found the prospect
of going there too upsetting. She remembers the fear she and her children felt when news came that Brooke’s van had been found. “It was very scary. We were very much expecting that the
Gardaí were going to find Brooke’s body imminently. We were also very surprised that it had taken three weeks to find the van and it had only been found by chance. It was a very
disturbing and sinister feeling when Brooke’s van was found.”

Although Gardaí suspect men from Northern Ireland were involved in Brooke’s abduction, detectives believe the gang must have had assistance from someone in Co. Kerry. The location
where the van was abandoned was too remote, too out of the way to have been the sole work of outsiders. When you consider that the Toyota Corolla was found abandoned in Limerick, it seems the gang
wished to get out of Kerry as quickly as possible. Going to Derreennageeha Forest without local assistance might not be a wise move for people who didn’t know the area, and who might run the
risk of getting lost in the mountains. It seems logical that someone led them to that spot, someone who perhaps travelled in Brooke’s van, or drove in the Toyota Corolla, or perhaps in
another vehicle. Someone who knew Co. Kerry, who knew where to hide the van, and perhaps where to hide Brooke. Perhaps that person didn’t physically travel to the forest but had given a map
to the abductors indicating a well-concealed hiding place high in the mountains. The location where Brooke’s van was abandoned ties in with the belief of Gardaí that one or more people
living in Co. Kerry may have been part of the plot to abduct Brooke.

In the first few days and weeks after Brooke’s disappearance, friends from Sneem and Caherciveen rallied around Penny and her children. A friend came to man the farm and cooked meals for
Lisa and Penny. Other friends had kindly taken the boys into their home to keep them safe, away from the trauma and to leave Penny free for what seemed like endless, if vital conversations with
Gardaí. As the weeks passed, Penny was trying to keep things going for her children. And all the while she was hoping Brooke would suddenly reappear. It was a very traumatic and stressful
time.

As weeks turned into months and eventually years, Penny and her four children were left in limbo. All the indications were that Brooke had been murdered, but in the absence of his body being
found, there was no real certainty about what had happened. Although a dozen people had been arrested, no charges were brought and there was no trace of Brooke. Detectives wanted to interview at
least five men from Northern Ireland but they were no longer in the Republic of Ireland. The Garda investigation eventually wound down and the media moved on to the next story. Penny was now faced
with bringing up the family by herself.

Amid the emotional turmoil there were also practical problems, which can affect any family of a missing person. In Brooke’s case the problems were particularly acute because family assets
were in his name.

“When someone goes missing presumed dead all their assets are frozen for seven years,” explains Penny.

In January 1994, another tragedy struck the Pickard family. Less than three years after Brooke disappeared, the eldest child in the family, Lisa, passed away following a road traffic accident.
She was just 17 years old. Lisa had been seven when the family had moved from England to Castle Cove. She loved the country life, with her pet chickens and later her ponies. At seventeen, she was
making plans for university. She was a very strong, capable person, fun-loving, with a great sense of humour. She was well loved within the community and her loss was massive. Lisa is now laid to
rest near Castle Cove.

A file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions by Gardaí investigating Brooke’s disappearance. Detectives believed that up to five men had been present when Brooke was
abducted and some of those men were armed. Having interviewed a number of people in the south-west of the country, Gardaí believed the abduction might have been related to an attempt to
steal money which the gang believed Brooke had in his possession. Although a number of men from Northern Ireland were known to have visited Castle Cove prior to Brooke’s abduction and were
believed to have carried out the attack, there was no evidence that the abduction was carried out by an illegal organisation. The investigation had been hampered because a number of the suspects
had returned to Northern Ireland and were beyond the reach of Gardaí. Having studied the file in late 1991 the
DPP
decided no charges could be brought at that
time.

As part of their enquiries, Gardaí examined Brooke’s one brush with the law during his life in Ireland. It was in December 1988 that he and another Englishman were arrested in
Dún Laoghaire in Dublin after detectives found Brooke’s friend in possession of a modified starting pistol. A court later heard that Brooke had been owed £4,000 by a man who in
turn was owed money by others. Brooke and his friend had gone to try and collect the debt from these other people and the gun had been brandished. “He lent money to someone and was angry that
he hadn’t got it back,” recalls Penny. “He went to retrieve the money and took someone with him. The person who owed him the money claimed he had had it taken from him by two
others. Brooke and his friend went to try and retrieve the money from these two people but one of them called the Gardaí and took Brooke’s number plate. It was a foolish venture that
he had gone on and the courts recognised it as such. He eventually received a suspended sentence. He never got his money back.” Detectives are satisfied that this incident had nothing to do
with Brooke’s abduction two and a half years later.

Penny tells me that after Brooke’s abduction his family still held out some hope that he might turn up alive. The family were clutching to things, trying to make sense of what was a
mystery. Penny recalls Brooke had always liked a song by comedian Billy Connolly called ‘John Stonehouse Went Swimming’. The song told the true story of how a British
MP
faked his own death in 1974 by leaving a pile of clothes on a beach in Miami. John Stonehouse was trying to escape charges in England of theft, fraud and deception. It was initially
thought Stonehouse had tragically drowned in Miami before he was found by Australian police living under an assumed name in Melbourne. He was later extradited and served a prison sentence in
England. Brooke really liked Billy Connolly’s musical take on the story. After Brooke disappeared himself, his family wondered if he too might have headed off somewhere to start afresh. He
had left home twice before without any prior notice but had left a note behind each time to say he had gone away. On one of those occasions he had travelled to England. Brooke’s family knew
him best, and knowing him the way they did, they wondered if he might have gone away again. Maybe he was somewhere like South America? Maybe he had somehow faked his own death? However, over time
such thoughts by the Pickard family faded somewhat. No matter what way you considered it, you couldn’t get away from the fact that an armed gang had been seen abducting Brooke from White
Strand car park. Everything after that was speculation, but when he was last seen Brooke was in imminent danger.

Co. Kerry has been the scene of another mysterious disappearance of someone who came to make Ireland their home. On the afternoon of 2 July 1978 a 26-year-old Dutch woman named Leidy Kaspersma
vanished just a few miles south of Kenmare. Leidy was last seen by her English boyfriend after she got out of their car and began walking along the road near where they were living. She has not
been seen since. Neither has there been any trace of the cream woollen shoulder bag she was carrying or matching jacket she was wearing along with brown boots and brown corduroy jeans. Leidy had
fallen in love with Ireland on a previous visit and had decided to move permanently to Co. Kerry. She was only living a few weeks in the county when she vanished without trace. Although it is
possible that Leidy chose to go missing, or met with an accident while walking in the mountains, it is feared that she may have been abducted and murdered. It is a sobering thought that if Leidy
died as a result of an accident or was secretly hidden in the mountains, there has been absolutely no trace of her. Despite thousands of visitors to Co. Kerry every year there are many parts of the
county which are still rarely if ever inhabited. If Brooke Pickard was killed and buried close to Derreennageeha, he may only be found in a planned and extensive search. Likewise perhaps only a
major search of land from Kenmare south to the Cork border may unearth the mystery of what happened to Leidy Kaspersma more than thirty years ago.

Brooke Pickard’s disappearance is one of dozens of missing persons cases which are similarly baffling. Brooke’s case is obviously a criminal investigation but there are other
non-criminal cases which are equally mystifying. Less than a week after Brooke disappeared in Co. Kerry a couple in their sixties vanished from their home in Fermoy in Co. Cork. The couple have not
been seen since nor has their white Toyota Cressida car been located. It’s just another example of how people can simply vanish without trace, and how even vehicles can apparently just
disappear.

In May 1996, the Pickard farmhouse at Castle Cove suffered a major fire. There was no-one at home at the time, so thankfully no-one was injured but damage to the property was major. By the time
the fire was extinguished, only one-fifth of the building was left standing and that was badly damaged. The dream home of Brooke and Penny and their children was no more. Life was now so much
different to the expectation and excitement they had felt when they arrived in Co. Kerry in 1983. There were great emotional ties to the farm and the area, with more than a decade of memories, and
it was where the boys had grown up. Also, Lisa was laid to rest nearby, and Brooke was possibly buried somewhere in the nearby countryside. But in August 1996 Penny and James, Crohan and Dan moved
to England where Penny subsequently divided her time between looking after her children and looking after her own parents in their old age. Her father passed away in 2009, aged 98.

In recent years Penny contacted the
WAVE
Trauma Centre in Belfast asking if they could help her find her missing husband. The group works with families of ‘the
Disappeared’—people abducted, killed and secretly buried by the
IRA
or the
INLA
. The
IRA
were responsible for
over a dozen such killings in the period from 1972 to 1981. The
INLA
killed one man in France in 1986 and similarly his body has never been located. For years Penny knew
that the men who had abducted her husband had come from Northern Ireland. While Brooke had no involvement in politics he had previously visited the North on one or two occasions. Was it possible he
had crossed very dangerous people? Was it possible that
IRA
or
INLA
members were involved in his disappearance? If her husband’s killing had
been sanctioned by a paramilitary group, was it possible that one or more of those might now come forward and give information, safe in the knowledge that they would not be prosecuted? “I had
been at a Christian weekend in England and had been talking to a friend of mine,” recalls Penny.