A woman who has been missing for five days may have been preparing to meet a man on the last day of her family visit.

Arlene Donnelly, 36, left her family home in Twinbrook last Sunday to share with her mother, Jean, and brother, Greg.

She had told her mum that she was going to see a friend who lived on Hamil Street.

But Arlene never returned home, and her friend Donnelly confirmed to the family that she had not been in contact with Arlene for months.

Arlene, who volunteered at the Oxfam Shop on Fountain Street in Belfast, recently signed up for a dating app and met someone for a walk.

Her brother Greg Told Belfast Live : “We really care about her. We search everywhere for her and call everyone she knows. But no one saw her.

“Arlene is a calm girl. She’s not really confident, she’s a homebird.

“Last Sunday she left home and told her mum that she was going to see her friend who lives on Hamil Street and that we were looking forward to her house. But she never came home that night, and the next night we got a telephone number for that friend.

“I expected her to stay there, but the girl said she had not seen Arlene for months. I do not know why she told us she was going there. She has told us she will join a dating service, so she may be meeting someone and not wanting to tell. She didn’t tell us, so I don’t know.

“We were able to see her in Balikasil, and we went there looking for her.

“We have nothing to do with Balicas, the description of her clothes was incorrect, but that was the first information we received.

“We reported seeing her in a wheelchair at 11.40am on Thursday at Bali Castle Beach Ground this afternoon.

“It’s completely out of character, and Arlene will disappear like this. She had never done this before. We are a close family and we always have a tendency to know what the other person is doing.

“Right now I’m trying to keep Mommy carefree and calm, but we’re both very worried. I would ask everyone to look at Arlene’s photos, please tell us where you saw her and where you saw her. We need to know that she is safe. ”

Arlene is a volunteer at the Oxfam Shop on Fountain Street in Belfast, where her boss, Tra Walls, describes her as “calm and kind.”

Tra said: “She is so weak that she does not speak for herself. She is a calm girl, but once you get to know her she is very crazy and loves to join in everything we do.

“She mentioned that she recently joined a dating app and met someone for a walk. There was a discussion that she was planning to meet someone on Sunday, but we have not confirmed this.

“I hope she’s somewhere in her life time away – but I’m worried, very worried.

“I will tell anyone who thinks they saw Arlene to call the police at 101. Disappearing for days is not something Arlene does, we just want to make sure we are all safe. ”

A PSNI spokesman said: “Arlene is 5’6” tall, with dark brown shoulder length and long hair.

According to police, Arlene was spotted by a group of people in a wheelchair in Balicas on Wednesday afternoon. Arlene thinks the leopard was wearing a white jumper and black coat.

Officers will ask Arlene or anyone who knows where she is at 1797 29/09/20 to contact Woodborough on quote number 101 or to submit a report online using our emergency reporting form. http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/. “