Biodiversity

NATURE and environmental experts from the UK visited to meet local scientists and find out how to best preserve Gibraltar’s biodiversity.

The UK’s Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs held a two-day workshop on the Rock.

DESOLATE: The derelict racecourse and how we reported the case

EXCLUSIVE:

POLICE have not ruled out digging up a section of a derelict racecourse where teenage expat Amy Fitzpatrick is allegedly buried. But they told the Olive Press this week they need ‘more information’ before bringing in diggers to search for the missing 15-yearold.

It comes despite Amy’s aunt handing a letter (right) to the Spanish embassy in Ireland yesterday, revealing how she received a phone call in 2014 claiming the teenager was killed and is buried at the Mijas Hipodromo.

Christine Kenny told the Olive Press the anonymous source told her that her niece was interred ‘beneath stable block five’. However, the Guardia Civil confirmed it had still not searched the site insisting ‘the case of Amy is on hold’. “We haven’t investigated the

By Anthony Piovesan

racetrack,” a spokesperson told the Olive Press. “Once we receive a valid clue to carry on looking for Amy then we will present it to the court and a judge can make a decision about how we proceed. “At the moment we don’t have sufficient information.” Amy would have celebrated her 31st birthday yesterday (Tuesday) - having vanished from Mijas Costa on New Year’s Day in 2008.

Vandalised

The Olive Press sent a reporter to investigate the 250 hectare site.

Completely deserted, it has been badly vandalised and neglected.

The gate is open and it’s clear that many teenagers use it as a place to socialise, with hundreds of smashed drinks bottles and empty packets of cigarettes.

Empty crates pile up inside an old Irish pub, while dusty documents are strewn over desks inside an old veterinary clinic.

While there are no obvious signs, the derelict site is the ideal spot for criminals to bury a body, or dispose of vital evidence.

None of the stable blocks are numbered, but all of them are empty.

It would certainly make sense for police to search the site for any clues that could solve the case.

The location is just a short 10-minute drive from where Amy vanished in Riviera del Sol, sparking a long mystery that once pointed the finger at her stepfather.

“It’s never been dug up and I would plead with the police to investigate this,”

Amy’s aunt told the Olive Press, last night.

Murder

She is urging the case to be upgraded to ‘murder’ and submitted a letter to the Spanish embassy in Dublin yesterday.

“I’m really hoping this new missive will bring more pressure onto the Spanish authorities to act.. We want to bring Amy home for a proper burial.” Meanwhile, Amy’s best friend Kimberley Simpson, who grew up with her on the Costa del Sol said investigating the racecourse ‘would be a good start’ in finding out what happened.

“I don’t know why they haven’t just dug it up,” the British girl told the Olive Press,