Tragic last sighting of pals at beloved family spot revealed before 3 found dead in Newport car crash
A GROUP of friends who were found by cops in a crashed car had been last seen at their families’ favourite hangout spot.
Police today discovered three bodies after Rafel Jeanne-Actie, Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin vanished on Friday night.
The group had not been seen since enjoying a night out at the Muffler nightclub in Newport, Wales.
And after a desperate search, Gwent Police this morning confirmed a car had been found, with three of the five occupants tragically killed and two seriously injured.
Now it’s been revealed the girls went to the social club in Maesglas in Eve’s car and only popped in to use the loo around 11pm.
They then jumped in the men’s car to drive to Trecco Bay holiday park in Porthcawl where one of the men’s family owns a caravan.
Sophie’s uncle was working behind the bar at Mufflers that evening.
A source who did not want to be named told The Sun: “The girls are very well known here, their families all drink here.
“Two of the girls just popped in to use the toilets. I’ve never seen the men before, they don’t come in here.
“We heard they went to the caravan park and there was some sort of altercation, we don’t know what that was, but they had to leave.
“There was another man in the car who wanted to go home. They dropped him off and then at some point crashed.
“They were probably laughing and joking and not paying attention.
“It’s terribly sad, it’s a tight knit community and everyone knows everyone here.
“It’s such a shame.”
Eve’s white BMW hatchback was still parked outside the club this morning.
Police have not confirmed the identities of those killed in the crash – but Eve’s family have confirmed she is one of the dead.
Two others are in a critical condition in hospital.
It comes as…
- Three pals were found dead in a crashed car after five people vanished while on a night out in Newport
- Eve Smith, 21, was confirmed dead by her family, who had tragically lost her sister in a crash eight years ago
- Two pals were pictured beaming on the night out before the tragedy
- The mum of Sophie Russon claimed cops told her to stop calling
- She has now revealed her agony at desperately searching for her daughter while she lay critically injured
- Haunting CCTV was shared by friends of the car before it vanished in the early hours of Saturday
- Police are now probing just what happened in the hours before the crash
Gwent Police said: “Three of those who were reported missing have been found deceased, two have been taken to hospital with serious injuries.”
The VW Tiguan they were travelling in was recovered just after midnight on Monday March 6.
It comes as it’s been revealed that Darcy had posted photos of her and Rafel partying that night.
The pic shows the pair smiling, with Rafel’s arm around Darcy.
It’s thought she posted the photo to her Snapchat story on the night they went missing.
Meanwhile haunting CCTV has shown the white car the group had been travelling in before it was involved in a road traffic collision and came off the A48.
The snaps, shared by the young people’s families during the search, show the white car carrying the friends.
Specialist officers are supporting the families of those involved and enquiries are ongoing.
Anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101, or send a direct message on social media, quoting 2300071791.
The case has been referred to the IOPC in line with normal procedures.