GARDAÍ INVESTIGATING THE potential murder of missing woman Deirdre Jacobs have identified persons of interest who they wish to speak with.

The 18-year-old was last seen walking near her home at Roseberry in Newbridge, Co Kildare, at around 3pm on 28 July 1998.

Investigators carried out a number of significant enquiries over the last 12 months to establish her whereabouts since her disappearance. New information gathered in that time led gardaí to reexamine the case’s status and, this morning, a murder probe was confirmed.

Chief Superintendent Brian Sutton told TheJournal.ie that the process started 12 months ago.

“We pulled apart the investigation. Detectives from Kildare along with officers in the serious crime review team have been working on this.

“We saw new lines of inquiry that needed to be followed and new information had come to light as well. We sat down around six weeks ago and decided to reclassify this as a murder investigation.

“We know these new lines of information need to be corroborated and that’s what we’re working on now.”

He also confirmed that more than one person of interest has been identified.

Chief Superintendent Sutton said that he expects searches to be carried out in the coming weeks and he urged anyone whose “moral compass” may have changed to come forward.

He said that gardaí will be re-interviewing people and are also appealing for anyone with any information to get in touch.

Deirdre’s parents Michael and Bernadette said this morning’s news has left them shocked.

Speaking to TV3, they said: “It’s still a shock – it’s a real heart wrencher we were literally stunned. Nobody wants to hear that their child has been murdered. It seems new information – that a crucial piece that will move things on was found.”

Gardaí have taken more than 2,000 statements and followed over 2,500 different lines of inquiry during the 20-year investigation.

An incident room has now been set up at Kildare Garda Station, and the investigation team are following a number of lines of enquiry

The investigation team can be contacted at Kildare Garda Station on 045 521222 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.