THE FAMILY of a woman who mysteriously vanished from Waterford city 15 years ago has made a new appeal for information on her whereabouts.
On the anniversary of Laois woman Imelda Keenan's disappearance, her siblings say they're continuing to live in hope of some news of their sister, who was just 22 years of age when she was last seen on January 3rd, 1994.
"Our mother passed away in June last aged 72 but she had never given up hope that someday we'd find out something," said Donal Keenan, Imelda's brother.
"This Christmas was a very difficult one for everyone in the Keenan family - the first without our sister and our mother. Fifteen years have passed since Imelda went missing but we want to send out the message that it's never too late for someone to pick up the phone and, even anonymously, pass on information that can bring us some closure.
"We don't know what happened to Imelda but whether she disappeared of her own accord or was the victim of a crime, we believe that somebody out there knows something."
Described as a quiet, pretty girl, Imelda - one of nine children - moved to Waterford when she was just 15.
She initially lived with her brother Gerry in the Ballybeg area but by the time of her disappearance seven years later, she had firmly established roots in the city.
She had enrolled in a computer course and also become engaged to her boyfriend of several years, local man Mark Wall, and she had moved into a flat on William Street with him.
The last reported sighted of Ms Keenan was on January 3rd, 1994, at Lombard Street, close to her flat. That morning, a bank holiday Monday, she told her fiancé that she was going to the post office to collect her dole. However the post office was closed and she has not been seen since.
In the weeks following her disappearance, the river Suir was searched and all her contacts were followed up - including those she had made around the world through her interest in citizens' band radio.
Ms Keenan's credit union account remains untouched and when she disappeared, she had nothing with her.
"Imelda was a girl that depended on other people quite a lot," said her brother, Gerry.
"If she was doing something, everyone would know about it. That's why we find it hard to believe she would have planned something like this - and certainly not on her own."
At Waterford Garda station the file on Ms Keenan remains open.
"I would just urge anyone at all who knows anything about this case to come forward to us," said Sgt Colman Hogan who worked on the Keenan case from day one.
"Fifteen years have passed now and we've no new leads but as far as we're concerned, this case will remain active until we know something."