THE MOTHER of missing woman Deirdre Jacob says she believes someone has information that could help find her daughter.
Bernie Jacob made the appeal yesterday on the 10th anniversary of her daughter's disappearance.
Deirdre, from Newbridge, Co Kildare was last seen in Newbridge on the evening of July 28th, 1998. The trainee-teacher was 18 years old when she went missing.
On the mornings of July 30th and 31st, a woman fitting her description was seen in a café on Tara Street in Dublin.
The Irish Crimestoppers Trust began an appeal yesterday for information on her disappearance. Uniformed gardaí gave out leaflets in Newbridge and at Tara Street rail station.
The leaflets focused on the reported Tara Street sighting and provided an age-enhanced photograph of Deirdre as she might look aged 28.
Mrs Jacob said the appeal was focusing on the Tara Street sighting because "we have absolutely nothing [to go on]. The only thing we know for definite is that Deirdre is missing."
She said she met the two people who had reported the Tara Street sightings and they were very definite about what they saw.
They said the woman was carrying a black bag with CAT written in yellow on the flap.
Mrs Jacob said the family hoped that, 10 years after the disappearance, someone somewhere might now be ready to come forward with information.
"We are absolutely sure that there is somebody out there that has more information that would help us, whether Deirdre is alive or no longer with us," she said.
"We hope that someone might find it in their heart to help us so that we can find our daughter."
She said the family always hoped that Deirdre would return some day.
"It's very painful but we have to keep going," she said.
"We have to keep trying to find out what happened to her."
Mrs Jacob said she understood that gardaí had received several calls after an appearance by her and her husband Michael, on RTÉ News on Sunday night.
A Garda spokesman said he could not say how many calls were received since the appeal was launched and he could not comment on the quality of the information.
He said more calls were likely to be received in the coming days.
Crimestoppers can be contacted free at 1800 25 00 25 or through any Garda station.
