Wicklow Quarry Search For Missing Women Resumes Tuesday Morning

Josephine "Jo Jo" Dullard went missing in 1995, three years before the disappearance of Deirdre Jacob in 1998

A major search operation at a quarry will resume at first light on Tuesday (17 Feb) as part of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance and murders of Josephine “Jo Jo” Dullard and Deirdre Jacob.

Gardai say they have begun the operation on foot of new information.

Gardaí confirmed that searches are currently focused on open ground on the border between counties Wicklow and Kildare.

The area will be subjected to detailed excavation, as well as technical and forensic examinations, over the coming days.

Both women disappeared in separate incidents in the 1990s, and their cases remain among Ireland’s most high-profile unsolved investigations.

Josephine “Jo Jo” Dullard, aged 21, went missing on 9 November 1995 after socialising in Dublin earlier that day.

She was last known to be in Moone, County Kildare.

Her case was formally upgraded from a missing persons inquiry to a murder investigation in 2020.

Deirdre Jacob, who was 18, disappeared on 28 July 1998. She was last seen crossing the road toward the entrance of her family home at Roseberry, Newbridge, County Kildare.

Her disappearance was upgraded to a murder investigation in 2018.

Gardaí said they continue to keep an open mind in both investigations and stressed that the current operation has the support of other state agencies, should additional expertise be required.

The families of both women are being kept fully informed of developments.

The search is being led by the Serious Crime Review Team and the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, with support from the Garda National Technical Bureau and local resources from the Kildare Division.

An Garda Síochána has again appealed to the public for assistance, urging anyone with information — no matter how small or seemingly insignificant — to come forward.

Anyone who believes they can help the investigation is asked to contact their local Garda station or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.

The Irish Sun's Crime Editor Stephen Breen says the search was initiated because of a cold-case review of both murders.

''Because of the information that they had and it wasn't searched previously, and as a result of that review by the cold case unit, the serious crime review team, it was important that it was looked at again.

And as a result of that review, they have now decided to conduct a search, but they are focusing on a very specific area of the quarry. I mean, the quarry is a very remote area.

It's a vast area as well, but they have information there and they are focusing all their attention on that specific area of the quarry.''