Gardaí launch new excavation in Wicklow for missing women Jo Jo Dullard and Deirdre Jacob
Irish police have begun a fresh excavation on open ground near the Wicklow-Kildare border as part of the murder investigations into Jo Jo Dullard and Deirdre Jacob, who vanished in the 1990s.
Search resumes after February dry run
A Garda operation backed by the Defence Forces commenced on 15 June on an area of open ground in County Wicklow, close to the Kildare border. The site was prepared last week under Aid to Civil Power arrangements, when soldiers completed a technical ground survey. Gardaí now expect to spend several days on excavation and forensic examinations.
An Garda Síochána has been and continues to keep the families of Jo Jo Dullard and Deirdre Jacob updated in relation to these investigations and they have been fully appraised of these developments.
Investigation timeline and key developments
The same area was searched in February 2026, but no breakthrough was reported. That earlier dig was part of a broader cold-case review initiated after both disappearances were upgraded to murder inquiries (Jacob in 2018, Dullard in 2020). Detectives from the Serious Crime Review Team re-examined files, re-interviewed original witnesses, and compiled a list of potential dig sites linked to a chief suspect.
- Jo Jo Dullard disappears from Moone, Co Kildare
- Deirdre Jacob vanishes near her home in Newbridge, Co Kildare
- Deirdre Jacob case upgraded to murder investigation
- Jo Jo Dullard case upgraded to murder investigation
- First search near Wicklow-Kildare border concludes without success
- New excavation commences after ground survey
One line of inquiry that emerged from the re-interviews was what investigators described as "credible information" that pointed to the townland of Usk Little on the Wicklow-Kildare boundary. The chief suspect was interviewed in London several years ago, but that meeting did not produce sufficient leads.
Jo Jo Dullard: 1995 disappearance
Jo Jo Dullard, aged 21, travelled from her home in Callan, County Kilkenny, to Dublin on 9 November 1995. After socialising at a bar on Harry Street, she missed the last bus back to Kilkenny and instead took a bus to Naas in County Kildare, hoping to hitch the rest of the way home. She got two lifts and reached Moone, where she phoned her friend Mary Cullinan from a phone box at 11.37 p.m. She told Cullinan a car had stopped for her and she was going to accept the ride. No further sighting of her was ever reported.
Deirdre Jacob: gone from her doorstep
Deirdre Jacob was 18 when she was last seen at around 3 p.m. on 28 July 1998. She was crossing the road toward her family home in Roseberry, Newbridge, County Kildare. She was wearing a navy v-neck T-shirt with white trim, navy or black jeans, and blue Nike runners, and she carried a distinctive black satchel-style bag with CAT in large yellow letters on the front. That bag has never been found.
Garda appeal for information
An Garda Síochána appeals to anyone with any information, no matter how small or insignificant you might believe it to be, to contact Kildare Garda station on 045 527 730 or any Garda station, or anyone who wishes to provide information confidentially should contact the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
