Mystery around why missing Imelda Keenan went to Waterford post office on bank holiday
City Street Reported Of 1994 Imelda The Lombard Then In Waterford On Year The Last About On Sighting 22 Keenan Was 1 At January 3, 30pm Old
Even 31 years after she disappeared, the reason missing woman Imelda Keenan went to the post office that day remains a mystery, gardaí say.
The last reported sighting of the then 22-year-old Co Laois native was on Lombard Street in Waterford City at about 1.30pm on January 3, 1994. She was unemployed and had been doing a computer course at the then Central Technical Institute at the time of her disappearance. She had been living in a flat on William Street with her boyfriend.
In a fresh appeal for information around her disappearance, Superintendent Gavin Hegarty said: “She left her apartment on January 3 to go the GPO on the quays in Waterford. We do know that was a bank holiday so the GPO was closed.
"We have a sighting of her on the mall in Waterford around the time that she was reported to have left her apartment. What we are trying to establish was where did she go when she left her apartment.”
Supt Hegarty said gardaí were keeping an open mind on the case, adding: “In the passage of time, could Imelda still be alive? Absolutely... but given the passage of time and the fact that we have had no contact and no information in relation to her whereabouts, the probability of her being alive is less than the probability of being her deceased.
She took no belongings with her when she left the flat, and her credit union account was left untouched. Among the items she left behind were her glasses and her cigarettes, and unopened Christmas presents. Her family wonders why unopened Christmas presents remained in the flat early in the new year, particularly as some were for nephews who lived in Waterford City, sons of her brother, Ned.
The Garda Serious Crime Review Team is now examining the case since early last year.
Her niece, Gina Kerry, welcomed the fresh Garda appeal, particularly with the inclusion of referencing her plan go visit the GPO.
A plaque in honour of Imelda has been installed on a bridge over John’s River, near where she was last seen. The family gathered at the plaque on Friday afternoon to pray for Imelda.
Anyone with information is asked to contact gardaí at Waterford Garda Station on 051 305 300, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.