Dorrian family appeal for NI national missing persons day
- Published
Lisa Dorrian, a 25-year-old shop assistant from Bangor, went missing in February 2005
The family of missing woman Lisa Dorrian is appealing for a national missing person day in Northern Ireland.
Lisa, 25, disappeared in February 2005 after attending a party at a caravan park in Ballyhalbert, County Down.
The Dorrian family virtually attended an annual ceremony for missing people organised by the Republic Of Ireland's Department of Justice on Wednesday.
The Missing Persons Day in the Republic is one of the most important in their family's calendar, Joanne Dorrian said.
Lisa's sister, Joanne, is now asking the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland to hold a similar day of remembrance for the families of missing loved ones in Northern Ireland.
"Missing Person Day [in the Republic of Ireland] means so much to me and my family because it reminds us that, whilst we are in a small minority in Northern Ireland, when we look at the whole island of Ireland there are many cases that we don't even hear about in the media," Joanne told BBC Radio Foyle.
"That sense of unity and belonging, although it is a community no one wants to belong to, it reminds you that you're not alone and not the only family going through this."
The Dorrian family pictured at a search for Lisa Dorrian in Ballyhalbert in May
Joanne said that when a loved one goes missing it "doesn't just affect you on anniversaries, it affects every day of your life".
She believes having a national missing persons day in Northern Ireland allows families to raise awareness of their case and potentially get new information about their missing loved one from the public.
"The media coverage alone is what could help bring people home," Lisa's sister said.
Justice Minister Naomi Long says she will look into establishing a national day for missing people in Northern Ireland
Justice Minister Naomi Long has said she would be more than happy to look at the issue with the Dorrian family and any other families who are missing loved ones.
Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle on Thursday, the minister said Joanne made a compelling case for why this would be extremely beneficial for families.
"When you meet with those families and you listen to the distress and the anxiety it causes, I think it certainly would be something I would consider," the Alliance leader said.
"It would allow families to get some publicity, to get the public to remember that there are individuals that are missing and draw out information from the public to help the police locate that person."
'Come forward and talk'
Det Supt Jason Murphy from the Police Service of Northern Ireland [PSNI] said events like this can also give the service an opportunity to appeal for witnesses and events in missing persons cases.
The senior officer also said that "it is an opportunity for families to realise that they are not alone".
Det Supt Murphy said that the investigation into the Lisa Dorian case remains active and said "they haven't given up any hope whatsoever in recovering her body or getting justice for their family".
"I have said many times that the answers lie very close to a very small number of individuals who know what happened on the night Ms Dorrian disappeared and know what happened to her body.
"I continue to appeal to those individuals, who have carried a very significant burden for the last 16 years, with the information that they know to come forward and talk to me."
He called on them to give Lisa's family answers and bring "some degree of closure to the devastation that they have lived with ever since Lisa disappeared".
- Published1 April 2019
