Imelda Keenan

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Waterford Garda (STATION)

Missing From:

Waterford, Ireland

Summary:

Imelda Keenan, 22, originally from Mountmellick, Co. Laois, disappeared on January 3, 1994 from Waterford, Ireland. She left her apartment at 1:30pm and walked down William Street onto Lombard Street, where she was last seen crossing the street at the corner of the Tower Hotel. Despite extensive Garda investigations, there have been no further confirmed sightings of her.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Imelda Keenan was last seen on January 3, 1994 at her residence in William Street, Waterford. On the day she vanished, she left her apartment at 1:30pm and walked down William Street onto Lombard Street. Gardaí were told that she left there to go and collect her social welfare payments at the post office after washing her hair and making her partner a cup of tea, but she was never seen again. The last confirmed sighting of Imelda was at the corner of the Tower Hotel and Lombard Street, where she was seen crossing the street. Imelda was reported missing by her brother, Edward, the following day. She had very little money on her at the time of her disappearance, left her clothing, personal possessions and glasses behind, and her credit union account has not been touched since she was last seen. She left her apartment on January 3 to go to the GPO on the quays in Waterford. January 3, 1994 was a bank holiday so the GPO was closed.

Additional Details:

Imelda was known for her quiet demeanour, her love of music and her strong family ties. She was a resident of Waterford city while pursuing her studies when she disappeared without a trace. Imelda had moved to Waterford and was living with her boyfriend. The gardai at the time labeled the case a possible suicide, and consequently, no forensic examination of the apartment took place. The case was stood down by gardaí a couple of weeks after Imelda vanished. Her family believe she was murdered before the January 3 date, although the case officially remains a missing persons investigation. Imelda's niece, Gina Kerry, told The Irish Times in 2024 that she believed her aunt was murdered before Christmas of 1993 and that the last reported sighting of her on January 3rd was mistaken. The family wonders why unopened Christmas presents remained in the flat early in the new year, particularly as some were for nephews who lived in Waterford city. Imelda's case has been linked to the disappearances of a number of other young women who vanished in Ireland in the 1990's, sometimes referred to as the Irish vanishing triangle, which are considered to be the work of a possible serial killer. In 2009, the family offered a €10,000 reward for new information on the disappearance. A Garda review into the disappearance concluded without an upgrade to a murder investigation in September 2025. Her family have long believed she was murdered and have campaigned for the case to be reclassified from a missing person investigation to a murder inquiry, but despite the review concluding with no upgrade, the family vowed to continue their fight for answers.

Case Last Updated:

Jun 15, 2026