Family of missing Imelda Keenan want case upgraded to murder 

Ms Keenan went missing from her Waterford City home in January 1994

Imelda Keenan: The last reported sighting of the 22-year-old was on Lombard Street in Waterford City at about 1.30pm on January 3, 1994

The family of a woman missing from her Waterford home for almost 30 years have asked gardaí to upgrade their investigation to a murder probe.

Imelda Keenan, from Mountmellick in Laois, had been living for a number of years in Waterford by the time she disappeared in January 1994.

The last reported sighting of the 22-year-old was on Lombard Street in Waterford City at about 1.30pm on January 3 that year. She was unemployed and had been doing a computer course at the then Central Technical Institute at the time of her disappearance. She had been living in a flat on William Street with her boyfriend, Mark Wall.

She took no belongings with her when she left the flat and her Credit Union account was left untouched. Among the items she left behind were her glasses and her cigarettes, and unopened Christmas presents.

After she disappeared, searches of the river and local areas were conducted but there is still no indication of what happened to Ms Keenan.

However, her family have now met with gardaí in Waterford, asking that the probe into her disappearance be upgraded from that of a missing person to a murder probe.

Her niece Gina Kerry said the family believed a circle of friends which Imelda had at the time of her disappearance have not been spoken to by gardaí as part of the investigation.

Fresh information

She said they had now brought fresh information to gardaí in their recent meeting in Waterford, and they hope to have a further meeting in December.

Although the last reported sighting of Ms Keenan was on January 3, Ms Kerry said her family wonder why unopened Christmas presents remained in the flat early in the new year, particularly as some were for nephews who lived in Waterford City.

“Imelda’s mam passed away not knowing what happened to her. So did her brother Ned and her brother Donal,” Ms Kerry said.

Ned had also lived in Waterford and was the last member of her family to see her alive.

Ms Kerry added: “We want the case to be upgraded to murder because people can be questioned then and we could have an inquest too.” 

A plaque in honour of Imelda Keenan has been installed on a bridge over John’s River, near where she was last seen. 

In 2009, the family offered a €10,000 reward for new information but still have not been able to find out what happened to her.

This article was originally published on November 8, 2023.