Latest news with #murderinquiry
BBC News
5 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Fiona Pender: Search ends for missing pregnant woman
Gardaí (Irish police) investigating the disappearance and murder of a pregnant Irish woman have concluded the search operation in the Slieve Bloom mountains in County Laois.A new search had been under way to try to find the remains of Fiona Pender, 25, who went missing in County was last seen at about 06:00 local time, on 23 August 1996 at her flat on Church Street, results of the searches are not being released for operational reasons. On Monday gardaí said they had reclassified their missing person investigation to a murder completed a search of land near Killeigh in County Offaly on Tuesday, the search moved to the Slieve Bloom mountains close to Clonaslee in County Laois on Wednesday. Killeigh and Clonaslee are about a 10-minute drive apart across the county Pender was 5'5" in height, had long blonde hair and was said to be looking forward to the birth of her was wearing white leggings and bright coloured clothing when she went missing. Who was Fiona Pender? Fiona Pender grew up in Tullamore, County Offaly, in a family that has suffered a number of had two brothers, but just over a year before Fiona went missing her brother Mark died in motorcycle the time of her disappearance in August 1996, Fiona was working as a hairdresser and living with her boyfriend in a flat in Church Street in her had spent the previous day "shopping for baby clothes with her mother in Tullamore," according to her missing person profile, external."She was in good form and was looking forward to the birth of her baby," the garda website soon as she went missing, the Pender family began a long campaign seeking the public's help to find Fiona, led by her mother 2000, almost four years after Fiona went missing, her 50-year-old father Sean Pender was found dead in the family widow believes he took his own life, telling a Tullamore reporter: "He couldn't live without his children.", externalThe investigation into Fiona's disappearance continued for 28 years without success, despite a number of searches and digs in different May 2008, a hillwalker came across a makeshift cross which had been recently put up in Monicknew Woods in the Slieve Bloom planks of wood had been hammered together and written on the cross were the words: "Fiona Pender. Buried here, August 22nd, 1996."Gardaí began a search of a two-acre site in the area, assisted by soldiers and cadaver dogs, but there was no sign of Ms Pender's mother Josephine died aged 68 in 2017, external, having never discovered the fate of her only daughter and her unborn Irish Times reported that a "candle of hope" was placed on the altar during her funeral "in memory of all missing people".In tribute to her daughter, a section of walkway along the Grand Canal outside Tullamore is known as the Fiona Pender Way.
BBC News
6 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Fiona Pender: Second dig to begin in search for missing woman
Detectives investigating the disappearance of a woman who went missing in the Republic of Ireland almost 30 years ago have begun a search at a second Fiona Pender was seven months pregnant when she disappeared in Tullamore, County Offaly in this week, gardaí (Irish police) said they had reclassified their missing person investigation to a murder inquiry. Having completed a search of land in County Offaly on Tuesday, the search moved to the Slieve Bloom mountains in County Laois on Wednesday. The new site is a piece of open ground which will be "subject to excavation, technical and forensic examinations," a garda statement said. Ms Pender was last seen at about 06:00 local time 23 August 1996 at her flat on Church Street, was 5'5" in height, had long blonde hair and was said to be looking forward to the birth of her child. She was wearing white leggings and bright coloured clothing when she went missing. The previous search, on open ground about 5km (3 miles) from Tullamore, began on Monday and ended on Tuesday evening. Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported that the operation was concentrated on bogland at Graigue, near the village of Killeigh. Gardaí said the results of the searches were "not being released for operational reasons" but added that they had kept Ms Pender's family updated. They repeated their appeal to "any person who may have previously come forward who felt they could not provide gardaí with all the information they had in relation to this matter, to contact the investigation team again". To date there have been no convictions in relation to Ms Pender's disappearance nor her suspected murder. However, over the course of the 28-year missing person investigation, five people have previously been arrested and investigation team have also taken more than 300 statements and "discovered and collated thousands of documents".
Irish Times
26-05-2025
- Irish Times
Fiona Pender case: Gardaí excavate Co Offaly site in search for missing woman as investigation upgraded to murder inquiry
Gardaí investigating the disappearance of Fiona Pender in August 1996 are excavating a site in Co Offaly. The search for the missing woman has also been upgraded to a murder inquiry. The area of open land at Graigue, Killeigh, will be searched and excavated, and subject to technical and forensic examinations over the coming days. The Irish Aviation Authority has temporarily restricted the air space in the vicinity of the search from today until next Monday, June 2nd. Fiona was last seen early in the morning of Friday, August 23rd, 1996, when she was at her flat on Church Street, in Tullamore. READ MORE The 25 year old was 5′5″ in height, with long blonde hair. She was seven months pregnant at the time of her disappearance. Her remains have never been found, and nobody has been charged in connection with her disappearance. Investigating gardaí are appealing to anyone with information on her disappearance to come forward. Over the course of the investigation into her disappearance, gardaí have taken over 300 statements of evidence. Extensive searches have been carried out and five people were arrested and detained in connection with the investigation. More to follow
