It’s 26 years since Jo Jo Dullard’s family and friends spoke to her.
Over two and a half decades of not knowing where she is or how she got there.
All they want is closure. To bring her home. To lay her to rest with other loved ones. To have a grave to visit.
The last known sighting of the Kilkenny woman was in Moone, Co Kildare on 9th November 1995.
She was only 21 as she tried to make her way home from Dublin, excited to be starting a new job in Callan.
She missed her bus and decided to hitch, her final communication with somebody who cared about her coming at about 11:30pm when she phoned a friend from a public phone box on the side of the road.
She flagged down a car and secured a lift.
But she never arrived and her new start never happened.
Much has followed since; searches, speculation and a strong sense of loss.
Last year, her case was upgraded to murder, though her body has never been found.
The latest search of a site in Kildare as part of the Deirdre Jacob case didn’t yield anything of significance to that or Jo Jo’s case. (See here).
Last Sunday those who cared for Jo Jo and those who’ve been touched by her story gathered at Kilkenny Castle Park at the national monument to the missing. (See here).
Her sister Kathleen Bergin says “We believe that Jo Jo was taken against her will that night, that whoever gave her that lift, they took Jo Jo away and ended her life”.
She adds “Our family have been traumatised by it all, it really has affected her family and her friends, we all need closure, Jo Jo needs to be brought home because she was trying to make her way home that day and the person who has information can actually help her finish that journey”
Kathleen describes her sibling as being “The most loving, very sensitive and kind person starting out in life, she never even got a chance to start that life and we’d often wonder where would she be today”.
And she says “26 years is a long time not having any answers as to what happened to her and all we want at this stage is just to be able to find her and bring her back home and to give her the Christian burial that she deserves”.
Anybody who knows anything is asked to please contact their local Garda station or the Garda Confidential Line: 1800 666 111.
