Fresh TV appeal tonight in bid to trace missing Tullamore woman

Gardaí will issue a fresh appeal for missing Tullamore woman Fiona Pender tonight on RTE 1's Crimecall programme at 9.35pm.

Fiona was last seen by her mother Josephine and her brother John on August 22, 1996, when she was 25-years-old and seven and half months pregnant. They were in Tullamore together, shopping for baby clothes.

Fiona returned to her flat in Church Street, where she was last sighted at approximately 6am the following morning, August 23 back in 1996.

She is described as 5'5" in height, with long blonde hair. When last seen, she was wearing bright coloured clothing with white leggings.

Fiona’s younger brother, John Pender, will also appeal on television for the public’s assistance, according to a post on the Garda Síochána Laois Offaly Facebook page in a bid to trace his beloved sister 25 years on from her disappearance.

“We still need people's help. If there’s any information that you think would be useful, make contact with someone that you trust and let them pass it on,” Mr Pender said.

At the time she went missing, Gardaí carried out extensive searches of farmland, canals, lakes and forests in Laois and Offaly.

In 2008, a significant excavation was undertaken in Monicknew woods in the Slieve Bloom Mountains. Then in 2014, acting on new information, Gardaí mounted a two-week search in a forest in Capard, Rosenallis, Co Laois. Unfortunately, none of these searches yielded any results.

Twenty-five years on, the search for justice for Fiona remains a sustained Garda investigation.

“We are seeking that critical bit of information that would help to secure justice for Fiona and her family. An Garda Síochána would like to assure anyone who may come forward that any information received will be treated in a sensitive manner,” the Facebook post stressed.

Anyone with information can contact Portlaoise Garda Station by calling (057) 8674100 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.