Bride-to-be's plee after groom disappears on stag night

A desperate bride issued an impassioned plea to her missing groom today after going ahead with her wedding reception following his last-minute disappearance.

Donna Marie Mooney, 22, said she feared for Said Belhassani’s safety, as it was out of character for her husband-to-be to go anywhere without telling her.




“He is just perfect, it is not like him to just up and leave like that without any word or contact or even a phone call,” she said.

The heartbroken mother, who has two young children with the Algerian, said she was devastated when she realised he was not coming to the church in Arklow, Co Wicklow, in Ireland.

“I am really hoping that he comes back to me alive, but something deep down is telling me that is not going to happen,” she said.

Mr Belhassani was last seen on his stag night last Friday.

“If he walked through the door, I’d hug him and kiss him for two or three days, then I would just knock him out,” she joked.

She appealed to him that if he got a case of cold feet, he should simply ring her to let her know he is safe.

Mr Belhassani, who was also known as Gerry, was originally from Algeria, and had been living in Ireland for 10 years.

Miss Mooney said the 31-year-old – who is currently awaiting deportation – had sought asylum last year to make his residence legal for their marriage.

She said he was Muslim and normally did not drink alcohol, but was very drunk at his stag party in Arklow town on the eve of their wedding day.

Her brother Paul said he “couldn’t even walk sideways, he was completely wasted“.

“The last words he said to me were ’I love ya and I’ll see you at the altar tomorrow and we will be husband and wife’,” Miss Mooney said.

She is worried he may have fallen into the river in Arklow, or may have been attacked as he struggled to make his way home.

Miss Mooney said the family checked with emergency services and gardai after they found no trace of Mr Belhassani the following morning – just hours before the wedding.

“I just couldn’t go to the church, I really couldn’t, it was so heartbreaking. I knew if he could get to a phone or something, he would have rung me to let me know he was OK,” she said.

Father Vincent McDevitt, who was due to marry the pair, gave a reading from the bible and prayed for Mr Belhassani’s safe return.

The priest added: “We had a practice the night before and Said was very happy. There were no fears at all.”

Miss Mooney said she went ahead with her wedding reception for family and 100 guests at the Arklow Bay Hotel to avoid letting down their guests.

“I didn’t go with my wedding dress or anything like that,” she said.

She said she had cancelled the original wedding reception entertainment but one of her close friends set up karaoke and disco music.

“By half twelve she was trying to cheer up the night, she had us all up doing ’Rock the Boat’,” she told RTE News.

Donna said her groom would not have left his children – two-year-old Keane and 11-month-old Rachid.

She said she has tried everything to locate him, even contacting his family in Algeria, who are also worried for his safety, and has ruled out his deportation without them being informed.

Mr Belhassani has been described as around 5ft 9ins tall, of slim build, with sallow skin and short hair. He was wearing blue jeans, a wine T-shirt and a brown jacket with writing across the chest when he went missing.

Gardai confirmed they are investigating his disappearance but said there has been no sign of him so far.