Fiona Pender was last seen in Tullamore, Co Offaly in August 1996.An Garda Síochána
Gardaí are renewing their appeal for information about Fiona Pender, the pregnant Irish woman who was last seen in Co Offaly in August 1996.
Pender was last seen in her flat on Church Street in Tullamore, Co Offaly, at approximately 6 am on Friday, August 23, 1996.
The 25-year-old was seven months pregnant at the time of her disappearance.
She is described as having been 5'5 with long blonde hair. When she was last seen, she was wearing bright-coloured clothing and white leggings.
Last year, her missing person case was formally reclassified as a murder investigation.
Fiona Pender. (An Garda Síochána)
Gardaí in the Laois Offaly Division have carried out a sustained investigation over the last 30 years, and the investigation continues to be led by a Senior Investigating Officer.
Significant enquiries have been carried out in order to establish Pender's whereabouts and to investigate the circumstances of her disappearance and murder.
Gardaí said on Friday that during this period, the investigation team has discovered and collated thousands of documents and reports, taken over 300 statements of evidence, and retained a number of exhibits.
In May 2008, a wooden cross was discovered in Monicknew woods in the Slieve Bloom mountains with the inscription "Fiona Pender. Buried here, August 22nd, 1996." The discovery prompted an intense search of the area, but Pender's body was not found. Gardaí, however, do not believe the cross was a hoax.
Other extensive searches have been carried out, most recently in 2025. Pender's body has never been located.
May 26, 2025: Gardai in Co Offaly during the search for the body of missing murder victim Fiona Pender. (RollingNews.ie)
Five people were arrested and detained in connection with this investigation, but no person has been brought to justice for her disappearance and murder.
An Garda Síochána is appealing to anyone who met or saw Pender in the early morning of Friday, August 23, 1996, and to anyone who has any information in relation to Pender's disappearance and murder who has not spoken to Gardaí, to please come forward and speak to our investigation team.
Gardaí 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 Tullamore Garda Station on (057) 9327600, or any Garda Station. Anyone who wishes to provide information confidentially should contact the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
Fiona Pender memorial along Fiona's Way in Tullamore, Co Offaly. (RollingNews.ie)
Since the 1996 disappearance, both of Pender's parents have passed. Her extended family, however, continues to hope for justice.
In 2013, Pender's family and their supporters reached an agreement with Tullamore Town Council to erect a memorial bench adjacent to the Grand Canal and name a looped canal walk 'Fiona's Way.' The following year, a memorial sculpture designed in part by Fiona's brother John was unveiled.
Speaking with RTE News late last year, Pender's aunt Bernie O'Reilly said: "The longer time goes on, the harder it is, because you worry it will get to a stage where she could be forgotten about."
She added: "I think as long as we're alive, we'll fight and we hope that something will come of it."
The annual Fiona Pender Memorial Walk & Run will be hosted in Tullamore, beginning from the Fiona's Way Monument, on Sunday, 30 years since Pender was last seen.