Daughter Expresses Concern for Parents Missing Amid Valencia Floods

The daughter of a couple residing in Valencia has voiced her apprehension regarding their safety, as they have been unaccounted for since Tuesday’s severe flooding. Ruth O’Loughlin confirmed she last communicated with her father, Don Turner, 78, and mother, Terry, 74, on Monday. However, neither neighbours nor friends have seen them since the region was hit by flash flooding and torrential rain. Ms O’Loughlin, who lives in Burntwood, Staffordshire, conveyed her urgent need for information and her distress, particularly because her parents left their pets at home. “I’d really like to find them and bring them back to the UK,” she stated. Her parents had relocated to Spain approximately a decade ago, drawn by their desire to “always wanted to live in the sunshine.” Ms O’Loughlin recounted that she was informed of their disappearance on Thursday after friends visited their home, discovering their pets inside, while she herself had been unable to reach them. She mentioned that her mother had told friends they were “popping out” to acquire some gas. Ms O’Loughlin elaborated on the friends’ discovery: “Friends had nipped up there because they hadn’t heard from mum and dad, the key was in the door, they could get into the property, the dogs were there and the car’s gone so they know that mum and dad haven’t gone back.” Spanish authorities have reported that the floods have now claimed the lives of over 200 individuals. Ms O’Loughlin described her parents as a popular, retired couple who lived in a bungalow surrounded by “lovely friends around them.” She added that they had been considering a return to the UK as they were advancing in age. Her mother, known for her lifelong affection for animals, owned cats and dogs and previously volunteered at their local rescue centre. Ms O’Loughlin believes her mother would do “her utmost” to reunite with her pets. The daughter recalled her last conversation with her mother on Monday, describing it as “a good chat.” She noted, “She was moaning about the rain, ironically.” Ms O’Loughlin continued, “She was saying they wanted to do jobs to the house so they could put it up for sale but it’s raining a lot.” She also shared, “We talked about mum and dad coming over here next year to spend some time with us and we just ended the call and I’m really glad I said ‘I love you’ and she said she loves me too.” Ms O’Loughlin explained that she could not contact them the following day, subsequently learning about the flooding and feeling “horrified at what’s going on over there.” She attempted to message her father, while friends also informed her they were sending messages. “Then Thursday morning I got a call from my nephew, who is very close to my parents, to say that my parents’ friends had called him to say they were missing and they’d been missing since Tuesday and they’d been looking for them,” she recounted. She further explained the challenging situation: “The bad thing about where mum and dad live is that there’s a bridge that’s collapsed so their friends are saying they’re more or less on an island, they couldn’t get away, but they have been searching the local area.” Other friends have been checking hospitals, and the authorities have been notified, she added. Ms O’Loughlin and her sister intend to travel to Spain soon to assist in the search for their parents. She characterized her parents, stating, “They’re just very, very kind thoughtful people, are well-known, well respected in the area.” Expressing her personal struggle, she concluded, “I feel like I’m at my wits’ end now with what to do, I feel a bit stuck.”