THE MOTHER OF Lisa Dorrian, a 25-year-old Catholic woman believed to have been ‘disappeared’ by Loyalist paramilitaries, has died.
Patricia’Pat’ Dorrian passed away in hospital yesterday after being admitted on Sunday. She was 59.
Mrs Dorrian’s death was confirmed by the PSNI in a statement made on behalf of the Dorrian family.
The Bangor native is survived by her husband John and daughters Joanne, Michelle, and Ciara.
The ‘disappearance’ of her daughter Lisa in 2005 is understood to have been perpetrated by Loyalist paramilitaries, although which faction was responsible has never been ascertained.
The Dorrians had never had any dealings or involvement in the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Lisa was last seen at 5am on the morning of 28 February, 2005 following a party at a caravan park in the Co Down village of Ballyhalbert.
Her disappearance is understood to have been related to a drugs debt. In the year prior to her disappearance she had become heavily dependent on recreational drugs and had begun mixing with a new crowd, believed to be associates of Loyalist groups.
Despite an enormous search on behalf of the PSNI (and also an unofficial search undertaken by the Loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force), which involved 1,200 officers at its peak, no trace of Lisa was ever found.
At the time of her disappearance she was understood to have been planning to leave Northern Ireland for Spain in order to set up a business and make a new start.
Pat Dorrian and her husband John spearheaded a tireless effort over the span of ten years in the hope of locating their missing daughter, sadly to no avail.
She and her family made a special appeal in February of this year, the tenth anniversary of Lisa’s disappearance, urging anyone with information as to her location to come forward.
The PSNI say that the Dorrian family has asked that “their strong desire for privacy at this difficult time” be respected.
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