No Garda progress until now

The Garda investigation into the disappearance of Fiona Sinnott (19) was one of the most exhaustive in the history of the State, but until now has yielded nothing to help solve the mystery.

Ms Sinnott, a mother of one child, from Bridgetown, Co Wexford, was last seen in public in Butler's bar, near Rosslare, on February 8th, 1998. She was seen leaving with the father of her baby daughter, Seán Carroll. The child was 11 months when her mother disappeared. Emma is now aged eight.

Ms Sinnott's disappearance was not reported for 10 days and gardaí believed the time lag handed a significant advantage to anybody who may have harmed the missing woman.

It was thought she had been murdered and that the 10-day period may have provided her killer with the opportunity to hide her body and cover his tracks.

A suspect was identified soon after the disappearance and this man has remained at the centre of the inquiry.

Her family insisted that Ms Sinnott would never have left her daughter and gone away without telling them.

"It's just like she vanished," her sister Caroline said at the time. "But you don't just vanish into thin air. There's somebody out there who knows something. Somebody has it on their conscience, if they have a conscience."

The last person to see Ms Sinnott was Mr Carroll. He was not in Fiona's company in the bar but joined her as she was leaving and they walked out of the premises together. They were no longer in relationship but had continued to see each other socially. Mr Carroll's parents often took care of Emma at weekends.

After the disappearance Mr Carroll told gardaí he had spent the night in Ms Sinnott's rented cottage in Ballycushlane. When he left the following morning she was still there.