This article is from page 18 of the 2011-09-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
THE BODY of a Spanish national who was seen jumping off the Cliffs of Moher earlier this year has never been recovered, an inquest heard yesterday.
As Coroner Isobel O’Dea returned a verdict of suicide, she told the family of Laureano Peláez Garcia (44) that it was always difficult to have an inquest when no body has been recovered and said it was “particularly difficult for a family to try to come to terms with it”.
Mr Peláez Garcia, from Madrid, travelled from Spain to Ireland on April 2, 2011, and went to the Cliffs the following day.
The inquest heard details of statements made by several tourists who were visiting the Cliffs of Moher on April 3. One of them, Brendan Kenny, from the US, took a photograph of Mr Peláez Garcia, shortly before he disappeared.
He said that he saw a middle aged man sitting on a wall smoking a cigarette. “He was staring out towards the sea,” he recalled. He said he was a bit “freaked out” by this and felt it was “weird”. He said he then saw him blessing himself before running straight out off the cliffs. This was at around 1pm.
Another witness, Johanna Schmidt, said she saw a man taking items out of a rucksack. A short time after, she heard a scream and saw a man falling out from the cliff. Another witness recalled finding a rucksack with personal items including a wallet, watch and jacket, on the ground nearby.
Paul McDonagh, a driver with Bus Éireann, drove from Galway to the Cliffs of Moher that day. Mr Peláez Garcia got on in Galway at 10.30am and said he was going to Lisdoonvarna. However, when the bus reached Lisdoonvarna, he remained on the bus and got off at the Cliffs of Moher. Mr McDonagh told him that he would be leaving the Cliffs of Moher at 1.30pm and Mr Peláez Garcia said if he was returning, he would go at that time.
Mr McDonagh said that Mr Peláez Garcia asked him did he have children. He told the bus driver that he didn’t have any children. The bus driver noticed a lot of sweat on his forehead. He said he saw him walking up towards the cliffs but he then lost sight of him.
Tom Doherty, a ranger at the Cliffs of Moher, said that three girls approached him at around 1pm with a rucksack. They told him that a man had jumped off the cliffs. He said he could see the casualty at the base of the Cliffs in a pool of water. The tide was out.
He called for the rescue helicopter and boat. He said that that body was too near the cliff for the helicopter to approach and the sea was too rough for the boat to attempt to recover it. There was a three metre swell at the time. The area was surveyed by Doolin Coast Guard for 90 minutes, before the casualty then disappeared from view.
Searches continued for 10 days but the body was never found, he said.
Mr Peláez Garcia’s brother told the inquest that he last saw his brother a week before he went to Ireland.
Ms O’Dea explained to Mr Peláez Garcia’s family that medical evidence was not available because his body was never located. She said that the deceased had been positively identified through the photograph.
“In this instance I’m very much aware of the conversation Mr Peláez Garcia had with the bus driver. Unfortunately the appropriate verdict for me to bring in is a verdict of suicide,” said the Coroner.
She paid tribute to gardaí who carried out a thorough investigation and also lauded Doolin Coast Guard for its efforts to recover Peláez Garcia’s body.