It remains one of the most baffling missing person's cases ever seen in Ireland.
Conor and Sheila Dwyer were last seen walking to a funeral mass in Fermoy on April 30, 1991. Since then, no definite trace of the quiet couple, both aged in their 60s, has been found.
Their sudden and complete disappearance has remained a total mystery for 32 years and Gardai have no clues as to what happened them, Cork Beo reports.
If they were still alive today, Conor and Sheila Dwyer would be aged 94 and 93 respectively - and though it's unlikely they are alive, their descendants and many people in Fermoy still want to know the truth of their disappearance.
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Gardai have fielded possible sightings from as far away as France, Germany and Italy, but none have led to any concrete leads.
And on the anniversary of the disappearance, community groups and friends in north Cork have again appealed to the public to help spread the story, in the hope that somebody, somewhere might recall a sighting of the Dwyers or their missing car.
The case has been immensely frustrating for Gardai down the years, who have kept the inquiry going and made regular appeals for information. However, one senior Garda said they are 'baffled' by a total absence of any clues to indicate what became of the couple.
The facts around their last known hours in Fermoy are clear. On April 30, 1991, Conor, aged 62, and Sheila, 61, were seen as they walked the short distance from their home in Fermoy to a Requiem Mass at St Patrick's Church.
A local woman who knew them said hello as they passed on the street at 9.30am. That was the last known sighting of the couple.
It was not until a family member became concerned that she had not heard from them, 22 days after they were last seen, that the alarm was raised and Gardai went to their home on Chapel Hill.
It was locked up as if the couple had just popped out. There was unopened post on the mat, nothing appeared to be missing, their clothes had not been packed and food was in the fridge.
Could the couple have decided on a sudden trip? Their bank accounts were untouched, no major withdrawals had been made before they disappeared and there was no activity on the accounts afterwards.
However, there was no sign of the couple's passports in their home - leading to some theories that they may have suddenly travelled abroad. But Gardai cannot explain why they would leave all of their clothes behind them and not try to access money from their bank accounts.
Along with their travel documents, there was only one thing missing from their home. The couple's white Toyota Cressida car, registration number 5797 ZT, was gone and it has never been found to this day. There had been one known contact the day after they were last seen, on May 1, when Sheila Dwyer had a brief conversation with her sister on the phone.
The alarm was not raised until May 22, when Mrs Dwyer’s sisters, Maisie and Nellie, became concerned that they had not heard from the couple in weeks.
There was a major Garda investigation involving teams in north Cork and neighbouring counties and extensive inquiries were carried out and the case received national publicity. But friends and neighbours were unable to provide any information. Nobody had noticed anything unusual about the couple or their behaviour in the days leading up to their disappearance.
As far as anybody could tell, this was a normal couple in their 60s, living a quiet, regulated life in a town where they were well-known.
The key to the case was always going to be the white Toyota Cressida. Gardai checked on possible sales and asked garages and dealers across Cork if they had been offered such a car - or parts from one - in the weeks after they disappeared.
Gardaí still believe that tracing their car holds the key to the mystery. But extensive searches, including at Cork and Shannon airports, drew a blank.
There was a reconstruction on RTE and a radio documentary that did throw up some leads. Mr Dwyer had worked as a handyman for a German businessman, a Mr Fritz Wolf, who had a home near Castlelyons.
Mr Dwyer was known to have become a trusted worker for the German man and ran errands for him in his vintage Rolls Royce. In 1993, there was a reported sighting of Mr Dwyer in Bavaria, but after investigation, this turned out to be another dead end.
If anybody has any information - they can contact the Gardai in Fermoy on (025) 82100.
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