Gardaí search woodland in Kildare after “unusual activity” during Deirdre Jacob disappearance

"There was unusual activity noticed at the woodland in or around the time Deirdre went missing."

Gardaí have begun the search of a woodland area in Kildare after "unusual activity" was spotted on the night Deirdre Jacob disappeared over 20 years ago. Gardaí investigating the disappearance and murder of Deirdre Jacob began the search of the 3.5-acre site in Taggartstown after a cursory search was already conducted. The search is expected to take up to three weeks. Officers are looking for anything that could be relevant to the case such as human remains, clothing, or other belongings. Gardaí are also looking for other evidence relating to other disappearances of other women in the area, such as Jo Jo Dullard who went missing near the same location in 1995. Then 18-year-old Jacob was last spotted near her home in Newbridge in Kildare, roughly 15km from the search site, back in July of 1998. in August of 2019, the case was upgraded from a missing person search to a murder investigation. A cold case review at the time found that witness statements about the night she was last seen may shed new light on the case. However, Inspector John Fitzgerald said on Monday that the information might be even more relevant than initially expected. "The woodland we're at here today was identified as an area of interest that may be relevant to the investigation," he told reporters. "All I'll say is as part of the review, witness evidence was examined and deemed relevant to this area." Fitzgerald added that due to "unusual activity" noticed at the time they believe it is "prudent to commence a thorough search" of the area. Main Image: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie.