MISSING PERSON
CASE #: 1996-59
Fiona Pender
Status:
Open
Date of Last Contact:
Date of Last Contact:
Missing From:
Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland
Summary:
Fiona Pender is an Irish woman who disappeared from her home in Tullamore, County Offaly on 23 August 1996 at the age of 25. She was seven months pregnant at the time of her disappearance. Her disappearance was upgraded to a murder investigation in 2025. She was 7 months pregnant at the time of her disappearance. Fiona's remains have never been located.
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Disappearance:
On the day before her disappearance, Fiona had spent the day with her mother where they went shopping for baby clothes. She was described as being happy and looking forward to the birth of her child. On 23 August 1996 Fiona was last seen at 6am by her partner John at their home on Church Street, Tullamore when he left to work on his family farm. A friend of Fiona's visited the home later that day but received no answer at the door. Fiona left her passport, clothing and credit cards behind. However, there were no signs of a struggle found in the apartment and it is believed that she left of her own accord and got in a vehicle with someone she knew.
Additional Details:
In the early stages of the investigation, a local man contacted Gardaí to say he had seen two men carrying what looked like a rolled up carpet from Fiona's apartment on Church Street around the time she went missing, before they then placed the object in the back of four-wheel drive vehicle. Thompson, along with his three sisters and their father, were arrested for questioning by Gardaí in April 1997, however they were released without charge. In May 2008, a makeshift cross was found in Monicknew woods in the Slieve Bloom mountains reading "Fiona Pender. Buried here, August 22, 1996." This discovery led to searches in the area for Fiona but nothing was found. In 2014 it was reported that the prime suspect in Fiona's disappearance was arrested abroad. It was reported that the suspect was arrested in the Canadian city of Saskatoon for sexually assaulting and threatening to kill his wife. John Thompson, originally from Grange, Killeagh, Co Laois, who emigrated to Saskatchewan in Canada with his wife in the 2000s, claimed the sexual assault prosecution was malicious and arose out of "a desire for recognition" in helping gardai solve Fiona's disappearance. A man who was found not guilty of sexually assaulting his wife in Canada was widely reported as being a suspect in Fiona's dissappearance. Gardaí in Laois/ Offaly Garda Division have carried out a sustained investigation over the last 28-years during which significant enquiries have been carried out to establish Fiona's whereabouts and to investigate the circumstances in which Fiona disappeared. Over the course of this investigation, the investigation team have discovered and collated thousands of documents/reports, taken in excess of 300 statements of evidence and retained a number of exhibits. Extensive searches have been carried out and 5 persons were arrested and detained in connection with this investigation. In 1999, Gardaí included Fiona Pender in Operation Trace, an inquiry into a number of high-profile disappearances of women in the 1990s. Josephine passed away after a long battle with illness. Then in 2000, four years after Fiona's disappearance, Josephine's husband Seán took his own life in their home. Gardaí investigating the disappearance and murder of Fiona Pender in August 1996 are today, Monday 26th May 2025, commencing a search operation on open ground at a location in Co. Offaly. This area of land will be searched and subject to excavation, technical and forensic examinations over the coming days.
Case Last Updated:
Timeline of Events
Her disappearance was upgraded to a murder investigation in 2025.
In 2014 it was reported that the prime suspect in Fiona's disappearance was arrested abroad. It was reported that the suspect was arrested in the Canadian city of Saskatoon for sexually assaulting and threatening to kill his wife.
A small wooden cross bearing the name "Fiona Pender" is found on Slieve Bloom at the border between Laois and Offaly.
In 1999, Gardaí included Fiona Pender in Operation Trace, an inquiry into a number of high-profile disappearances of women in the 1990s.
On the 24th of April 1997 John Thompson, along with his father Archie and three sisters were arrested in relation to Fiona's disappearance.
Fiona was reported missing by her family on the following day and five days later Gardaí issued a national alert for information on her disappearance.
Fiona was last seen at approximately 6am on the morning of Friday, 23rd August 1996 when she was at her flat on Church Street, Tullamore.
On 22 August 1996, Fiona, who was seven months pregnant, and her mother Josephine headed into town to shop for baby clothes.
Associated Persons
Sean P. (Father) - Deceased
Mark P. (Brother) - Deceased
John T. (Partner, father of unborn child, last person to see victim alive) - Living
Josephine P. (Mother) - Deceased
John P. (Brother) - Living
Family Tree
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Paternal Grandmother's Mother
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Maternal Grandfather's Father
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Maternal Grandmother's Father
Paternal Grandfather's Mother
Paternal Grandfather's Father
Paternal Grandmother's Mother
Paternal Grandmother's Father
Maternal Grandfather's Mother
Maternal Grandfather's Father
Maternal Grandmother's Mother
Maternal Grandmother's Father
Paternal Grandfather
Paternal Grandmother
Maternal Grandfather
Maternal Grandmother
Father
Mother
Missing Person
Missing Person
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