Gardaí hope search will finally bring closure to missing Kilkenny woman’s family

Gardaí hope a search of land just 13km from where Kilkenny woman Jo Jo Dullard made a call to a friend minutes before she vanished will finally bring closure to her family’s 29-year search for answers.

The 21 year-old made the call on November 9, 1995 from a phone box while making her way home to Callan from a night out in Dublin on November 9, 1995. She was never seen again.

However, there was a potential breakthrough in the three decades old case yesterday when a man in his 50s was arrested in Co. Kildare in connection with Ms Dullard’s disappearance and murder.

Gardaí also confirmed they also searched two private residences as part of their investigation.

The area of land being searched – which is owned by one family – is vast, but gardaí hope “concentrated searches” at a section of open ground will uncover forensic evidence.

Speaking about the search operation, Superintendent Paul Burke said: “This area of land will be searched and subject to excavation, technical and forensic examination over the coming days.

“The arrest and search operation is being led by the investigation team from Kildare Division Serious Crime Unit, the Serious Crime Review team, and the gardaí of national bureau of criminal investigation.

“The search is being carried out by the Kildare Divisional search team, supported by the garda national technical bureau and local division scenes of crime unit.”

At the time of her disappearance, Ms Dullard was linked to a “missing triangle” in the area along with Annie McCarrick and Deirdre Jacob.

Larry Murphy who was convicted of the kidnap, attempted murder and rape of a woman in Wicklow and was released in 2011 was a suspect in all three cases. But Murphy is not the man arrested by gardaí yesterday.

He was last night being detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice act 1984.