A search operation has been launched after a 56-year-old woman and her dog failed to return home from a walk in Snowdonia, northwest Wales.
North Wales Police (NWP) are appealing for information after Ausra Plungiene was reported missing on Tuesday.
Officers have released photos of Ms Plungiene and her black dog and have asked the public to report any sightings to them.
A police spokesman said officers were working with Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team and the RAF Search and Rescue to try to locate Ms Plungiene, who lives in the Prestatyn area.
Image: Ms Plungiene’s dog is also missing. Pic: NWP
A man who said he was Ms Plungiene’s son on the NWP’s Facebook page said she had parked in Rowen which is a small village in the Eryri National Park.
However, it is not known which direction the keen hiker was heading in and she has not been seen by other people in the area since.
It is believed Ms Plungiene may have been wearing a dark pink or purple padded jacket, black leggings and blue shoes.
Superintendent Owain Llewellyn said: “We are extremely concerned for Ausra’s safety and I am appealing to anyone who may have seen her or has any information on her whereabouts to get in touch.
“A number of resources were deployed throughout the night to try to find her.
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“Her vehicle was located in a remote car park in Rowen shortly after midnight so we are working to establish which route she may have taken.
“Searches are continuing across the area this morning – involving a number of resources including air support, and due to the current inclement weather conditions, I would ask members of the public not to conduct their own searches, and allow our Mountain Rescue colleagues to continue their enquiries”.
One person commenting on the Facebook post said the weather had been dry in the morning but “turned awful” in the afternoon.
The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for wind in parts of North Wales on Tuesday afternoon.
NWP posted on their social media accounts: “Concerns for Ausra Plungiene, 56 yrs, who went walking with her dog in Snowdonia, 11th April and is now missing.
“Any sightings/information please ring NWP on 101 quoting incident no A052734.”
A mother-of-two who died after being hit by a falling tree branch on the way home from a family outing would do “everything she could for anyone”, her husband has said.
Madia Kauser, 32, was walking with her family in Witton Park in Blackburn, Lancashire, on 11 August when the incident happened.
She is reported to have pushed her young daughter to safety.
A joint investigation is being carried out by Lancashire Police and the Health and Safety Executive and any witnesses are being asked to come forward.
In a tribute issued by police, her husband Wasim Khan described her as the “most beautiful woman in the world” and said he feels “completely lost without her”.
He said: “My wife, a mother-of-two, a daughter, sister and a friend we lost to a tragic event that came on the way home from a family day out in the park.
“She was the most beautiful woman in the world, she did everything for our two children, she did everything she could for anyone and would bring smiles whenever she entered the room.
“She was my comfort, my partner in life and the love of my life.
“We have so many great memories, went through pain together and started a family together.
“Honestly, I feel completely lost without her and I do not know how to put into words how much I miss her face, her character and her presence. My one and only.”
Detective Inspector Iain Czapowski said: “This is an absolutely tragic incident which has cost a young woman her life and my thoughts are with her loved ones.
“We are working closely with our colleagues from the Health and Safety Executive and with the co-operation of the council to try and establish the full circumstances of what happened, and I would like to speak to anyone with information which could assist with that.
“I am especially keen to speak to anyone who actually saw what happened on that fateful night and I would urge them to contact us.”
A member of rap trio Kneecap was greeted by hundreds of supporters as he arrived at court this morning, charged with allegedly supporting a proscribed terror organisation.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in London in November last year.
Demonstrators waving flags and holding banners in support of the rapper greeted him with cheers as he made his way into Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
Image: The rapper is mobbed by fans and media as he arrives at court. Pics: PA
Supported by his Kneecap bandmates Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, it took the rapper more than a minute to enter the building as security officers worked to usher him inside through a crowd of photographers.
Fans held signs which read “Free Mo Chara”, while others waved Irish and Palestinian flags.
As the hearing got under way, O hAnnaidh confirmed his name, date of birth and address, with the court hearing an Irish language interpreter would be present.
During a previous hearing, prosecutors said the 27-year-old is “well within his rights” to voice his opinions on the Israel-Palestine conflict, but said the alleged incident at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town was a “wholly different thing”.
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O hAnnaidh is yet to enter a plea to the charge.
Image: Bandmates Naoise O Caireallain (pictured, centre) and JJ O Dochartaigh are supporting O hAnnaidh. Pic: Reuters
Who are Kneecap?
Kneecap put out their first single in 2017 and rose to wider prominence in 2024 after the release of their debut album and an eponymously titled film – a fictionalised retelling of how the band came together and their fight to save the Irish language.
The film, in which the trio play themselves and co-star alongside starring Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender, won the BAFTA for outstanding debut earlier this year, for director and writer Rich Peppiatt.
A council has won its bid to temporarily block asylum seekers from being housed at a hotel in Essex.
Epping Forest District Council sought an interim injunction to stop migrants from being accommodated at the Bell Hotel in Epping, which is owned by Somani Hotels Limited.
A government attempt to delay the application was rejected by the High Court judge earlier on Tuesday.
The interim injunction now means the hotel has to be cleared of its occupants within 14 days.
Somani Hotels said it intended to appeal the decision.
Several protests have been held outside the hotel in recent weeks after an asylum seeker housed there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with trying to kiss a teenage girl and denies the allegations. He is due to stand trial later this month.
Image: Police officers ahead of a demonstration outside The Bell Hotel in July. Pic: PA
At a hearing last week, barristers for the council claimed Somani Hotels breached planning rules because the site is not being used for its intended purpose as a hotel.
Philip Coppel KC, for the council, said the problem was “getting out of hand” and “causing great anxiety” to local people.
He said the hotel “is no more a hotel [to asylum seekers] than a borstal to a young offender”.
Image: File pic: PA
Piers Riley-Smith, for Somani Hotels Limited, said a “draconian” injunction would cause “hardship” for those in the hotel, arguing “political views” were not grounds for an injunction to be granted.
He also said contracts to house asylum seekers were a “financial lifeline” for the hotel, which was only 1% full in August 2022, when it was open to paying customers.
Image: Protesters and counter-demonstrators outside The Bell Hotel in July. Pic: PA
The hotel housed migrants from May 2020 to March 2021, then from October 2022 to April 2024, with the council never instigating any formal enforcement proceedings against this use, Mr Riley-Smith said.
They were being placed there again in April 2025 and Mr Riley-Smith said a planning application was not made “having taken advice from the Home Office”.
At the end of the hearing last week, Mr Justice Eyre ordered that Somani Hotels could not “accept any new applications” from asylum seekers to stay at the site until he had made his ruling on the temporary injunction.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.