People who gave an alibi for the main suspect in the Fiona Pender disappearance should be quizzed again by officers, it has been claimed.
Former cold case detective Alan Bailey said a new review of the 25-year-old pregnant woman’s case is needed as he pointed out her unborn baby would now be the same age as Fiona when she vanished.
The part-time model, who was seven months pregnant, went missing from Tullamore, Co Offaly on August 23, 1996. No person has been brought to justice for her disappearance.
Read More : Irishman attacked in burglary faces rest of his life in hospital paralysed
However, according to the retired officer, it is vital that detectives now go back and quiz those who gave an alibi at the time for the main person of interest.
He told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “There was one person of interest. What I would suggest to the Cold Case Review Team is to interview those who gave this person an alibi at the time.
“I do think at this stage the gardai should consider a cold case review.
“I would be satisfied after spending 13 years investigating it that there is nobody else but this one person.
And Mr Bailey said he is confident that the person who was involved in Fiona’s disappearance was known to her and may have confided in someone at the time what happened to her.
He added: “It’s very hard to keep to yourself. Maybe a person for some misguided loyalties at the time, has kept this secret all that time and maybe it’s time now that they said to themselves, ‘We owe it to Fiona’s memory and the dead child’s memory’.”
He said that the person who is believed to have killed Fiona may be caught if her remains are ever discovered.
To date, five people have been arrested and questioned about the case but no trace of the woman has been found.
A number of sites have been searched in the past but to no avail.
Mr Bailey continued: “The person who killed Fiona was known to her and also knew well that she was pregnant.
“When the person killed Fiona they also killed that child.
“If a body was found DNA would help of course. There were a number of searches which at the time were considered good but they all petered out unfortunately.
“Outside experts were also brought in to help with the searches. The family had a lot of false hope.
“Look it has been 26 years since Fiona and her child were killed, some of these people are parents in their own right now. That is something Fiona was deprived of.
"Fiona’s child would be the same age this year as she was when she disappeared. It’s very significant.”
Meanwhile, this week gardai in Tullamore made an appeal for any information from the public, asking anyone who met or saw Fiona that morning, or who has other information, to come forward.
Gardai said in a statement: “Gardai continue to appeal to any person who may have previously come forward who felt they could not provide Gardaí with all the information they had in relation to this matter, to contact the investigation team again,
“An Garda Síochána appeals to anyone with any information, no matter how small or insignificant you might believe it to be, to contact Portlaoise Garda Station on 057 867 4100, or any Garda Station.
“Anyone who wishes to provide information confidentially should contact the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.”
READ NEXT :
Thousands face energy bill hikes as deadline for meter readings just weeks away
Met Eireann pinpoint best day next week with summer to have one last hurrah
Vogue Williams hits back after vile troll bombards her with abuse over baby Otto
Girl breaks neck after being 'peer pressured' into doing viral TikTok challenge
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter
