Search continues for Jo Jo and Deirdre at this lonely spot. And all their families can do is wait

Detectives from the Garda Cold Case Unit, whose investigations have brought them to this section of land close to the N81 in west Co Wicklow, had earlier ensured a no-fly zone was put in place, so that no drones could disturb their serious work at these few acres of land, which will now be excavated for any sign of criminality.

Families notified of new search

In recent days, gardaí had visited the families of Jo Jo Dullard and Deirdre Jacob to alert them that a new line of enquiry had brought officers to focus on whether a particular ‘person of interest’ had visited the current search location in the 1990s and hidden anything beneath the ground.

Both the Dullards and Jacobs have had their hopes raised before. 

In the Jo Jo investigation, a man was arrested in 2024, and a separate search was conducted elsewhere in Co Wicklow. But that man was later released without charge. 

'Person of interest' 

Of significance with the current search is that it is the movements of a different suspect has brought gardaí to dig this ground a few kilometres north of Baltinglass.

This different suspect has long been a ‘person of interest’ in Deirdre Jacob’s abduction and murder, which occurred two and a half years after Jo Jo vanished.

Reflections on the disappearances 

Standing on a country road parallel to the N81, and as I peered through trees to glimpse the digger at work, I reflected on how two women who didn’t know each other are now part of a linked enquiry.

Could the same person have murdered Jo Jo and Deirdre? 

It’s a question I’ve long asked myself, but now it’s clear it’s a question gardaí are considering.

The digger scraped soil and deposited it in a heap close by.

A small team of gardaí in heavy rainwear studied the soil as the digger moved methodically.

This search is confined to a relatively small location. But it may be deeper than other previous searches. The terrain is a mixture of sand and loose soil, which in parts is quite deep.

Gardaí planned this search 

Through the trees, I saw how gardaí were focusing on various locations all within walking distance of each other. This is a planned search, where the initial day’s work prepares the location for more intense excavation over the coming days.

It’s over 30kms from this search scene to the home of Deirdre Jacob, a home to which Deirdre was almost back after a trip into the town on a July day in 1998, when something happened to her to prevent her getting inside.

She was never seen again. Her body is out there somewhere. 

Two families seek answers 

Her family still waits for answers, waits to know what happened to Deirdre, and who is responsible.

Deirdre’s parents, Michael and Bernie, have campaigned for years on behalf of their eldest daughter.

Deirdre has one younger sibling, Ciara.

Jo Jo came from a larger family — one brother and three sisters. 

Jo Jo's sister Kathleen Bergin has championed her case in recent years. Another sister, Mary Phelan, was a powerhouse who constantly urged gardaí to do more for missing people, and who could never understand why gardaí did not declare Jo Jo a murder victim in the 1990s, or indeed the next two decades.

It was only in 2020 that detectives officially declared a murder investigation. Mary did not live to see that day.

Deirdre’s case was only upgraded to a murder enquiry in 2018, some 20 years after she vanished without trace.

Search site off the beaten track

The only onlookers at this active search scene are the media. The location is so remote, close to a busy road, but very quickly becoming completely quiet once you’re off the beaten track.

Quiet but for the distant sound of a mechanical digger, a sound which will continue over the coming days as gardaí establish if there’s any clue at this site to tell what happened to two missing women who were targeted and murdered in the 1990s.

And all the while their families wait. There’s nothing else they can do right now, except wait.

And hope.