7 days ago
Heartbroken sister still searching for brother last seen 25 years ago in Glasgow
Richard Doolan went missing from Croy in Glasgow in 2001. Despite extensive searches and public appeals by Richard's family and police, no-one has seen or heard from him.
A heartbroken sister has spoken of the extraordinary steps she's taken in a decades-long search for her brother, who vanished without a trace nearly 25 years ago.
Jean Mahon last saw her brother Richard Doolan on March 24, 2001, in Croy, Glasgow. Now living in Dublin, she has never given up hope that he may still be alive.
Richard was officially reported missing when the family grew concerned after his mother visited his flat and found his wallet, driving licence and personal belongings still inside. That gut feeling quickly turned into a nightmare. Despite extensive searches, there has never been any sign of him, reports the Irish Mirror.
Speaking on Venetia Quick's podcast The Grief Pod, Jean opened up about the emotional toll of the uncertainty that has haunted her family for nearly a quarter of a century.
'When someone asks and you say my brother is a missing person, he's missing for 24 years, the first reaction from them is to say, 'I'm so sorry',' she said.
'But I actually don't feel as if I have the right to grieve because I haven't lost him.
'You could ask me today and I would be pretty confident that Richard has passed. But yesterday Richard moved to London and he has a wife and a couple of kids and he's happy there.
'And that's the difference with this type of loss because you don't know. We don't have any way to grieve, there's nowhere for us to go.'
In her desperate search for answers, Jean once went as far as taking a job within the Irish Government's Department of Social Protection, hoping to find clues in Richard's welfare records. At the time of his disappearance, Richard had been claiming benefits.
'After six months I got a promotion to a separate building where I had access to Richard's files,' she said.
Despite knowing she could lose her job for doing so, she checked the records.
Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!
Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.
You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.
All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in!
If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like.
To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
'He hadn't got any more benefits. They stopped when he became a missing person,' she said. 'In a sense, I found what I needed to know but I didn't find what I was looking for. I was hoping maybe he had moved away and claimed somewhere else and there would be a forwarding address.'
Jean described the last 24 years as 'an endless cycle of grief with a bit of hope thrown in now and again'.
Even now, she admits to scanning faces in every crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of her brother.
'It happens every day. We went to Croke Park there, 83,000 people, and 90% of the time you are looking at people—the way they walk, the way they turn their head, their height, their stature—just for the slightest chance maybe you could see him,' she said.
'I have jumped and thought, 'Oh my God, that's Richard'—then it's not. And they are the ones that hurt the most.'
Richard Doolan remains listed as a missing person. Anyone with information is urged to contact the police.
