Josephine “Jo Jo” Dullard was just 21-years-old when she vanished without a trace.
It is approaching 30 years since her family last saw her and no arrests had ever been made in connection to the mystery – until now.
This week, police in Ireland (gardaí) arrested a man in his 50s on suspicion of murdering Jo Jo, and a search operation was launched near the Wicklow and Kildare border.
Her heartbroken family have been seeking answers ever since she disappeared in 1995 and below we take a look inside the case of one of Ireland’s longest missing women.
Who was Jo Jo Dullard?
Jo Jo was the youngest of five children and had three sisters and one brother.
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Her dog was called Freeway after the dog from ‘Hart to Hart’ and she had a passion for music – with some of her favourite artists being George Michael, Michael Jackson and A-Ha.
Her last known words came from a phone box on the night of November 9, 1995, when she told a friend: “I have a lift. See you Mary.”
The day she vanished
Jo Jo, who is from County Kilkenny, travelled to Dublin on November 9, 1995, where she enjoyed an evening at Bruxelles Bar on Harry Street.
But the 21-year-old missed her last bus home to Kilkenny after socialising – and at 10pm she took a bus to Naas, Co Kildare.
Her intention was to hitchhike home from there and she got two separate lifts to eventually reach Moone.
(Image: PA)
(Image: PA)
That is where she called her pal, Mary Cullinan, from a phone box at 11.37pm. During the conversation, she told Mary a car had pulled up and she was going to take another lift. But Jo Jo was never heard from again.
Family’s agony
Two years after she vanished, a body was found in the River Shannon, and her family was wrongly told it may be JoJo.
The body turned out to be a man and Jo Jo’s desperate family have pleaded for answers ever since.
Her sister, Kathleen Bergin, featured on Six Silent Killings: Ireland’s Vanishing Triangle programme last year and said: “Whoever has done this… they have hidden her so well. She could be anywhere.”
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The missing persons case was upgraded to a murder inquiry in 2020 and Kathleen was asked whether Jo Jo’s death could be the work of a serial killer.
She said: “I hate saying serial killer because until the day we find JoJo I can’t, I can’t.”
Last weekend, Kathleen, with the help of Gardaí, launched a fresh appeal on the 29th anniversary of her sister’s disappearance.
She asked the public to help “bring her home” and since then there has been a major update after the arrest.
What is the latest?
The man arrested earlier this week was released without charge. He was reportedly the last known person to have interacted with Jo Jo before she vanished and he gave a statement to police shortly after she went missing.
Supt Paul Burke told the press on Monday: “This area of land (area near Wicklow and Kildare border) will be searched and subject to excavation, technical and forensic examinations over the coming days.”
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The man arrested was being held at a Garda station in Co Kildare and cops also confirmed they had searched two properties.
Supt Burke added: “An Garda Síochána has been and continues to keep the family of Jo Jo Dullard fully updated in relation to this investigation and they have been fully apprised of all of today’s developments.”
The search at Ballyhook, Grangecon, Co Wicklow, was prompted when “new information” came to light and it is expected to continue over the following days.