'Alarm bells ringing,' Kildare parents heartbreaking Crimecall appeal over murdered daughter

The parents of the late Kildare woman Deirdre Jacobs have renewed their appeal for information relating to the murder of their daughter. 

Michael and Bernadette featured on Monday night's episode of Crimecall saying that they have "never stopped searching" for their daughter. 

Deirdre vanished from outside of her home in Newbridge on a summer's day in 1998 at just 18-years-old. 

Around lunchtime, she left her home and walked into town. 

READ NEXT: Six arrests near Kildare border as Irish police condemn ‘mob thuggery’

CCTV footage shows Deirdre at the AIB bank on the Main Street and then at the Post Office.

The final piece of CCTV shows her passing the old Irish Permanent Building Society on her way home. 

Her parents revealed on Crimecall that even though it has been 27 years, they still have hope that justice will be served.

"She was here, at her own gate, and to think that something very sinister happened to her somewhere around here," Michael Jacobs said.

When her mother got home later that day, she instantly knew something was wrong. 

"When I reached our front door, straight away I wondered, 'Where is Deirdre’? Because she was to be there. So straight away alarm bells were ringing," she said.

Bernadette reminisced about her daughter's love of fashion and spending time with friends. 

She said the last time she saw Deirdre was on July 28th 1998. 

She was home for the summer holidays after finishing her first year teacher training and was organising accommodation for her second. 

This is why she had been to the bank on the day she went missing. 

READ NEXT: New rooms proposed for student accommodation building in Kildare

Gardaí started an extensive search operation once they were informed and it became one of the biggest Ireland has ever seen.

They searched the local area as well as in forests and rivers but to no avail. 

"Hours go into days, days go into weeks. And that's how it was," Michael said.

Since she vanished, there has been no trace of Deirdre ever found. 

"Twenty seven years have passed. And there are so many times over those years that you're drawn to the fact that there is a gap in the family group. Photographs being taken and Deirdre should be in them," her father said. 

"Our children were the centre of our lives. And now we don't know where one of them is. We don't know what happened to her," Bernadette added.

In 2018, Deirdre's case was updated from missing person to murder. 

Despite more resources and renewed appeals, her parents are still left with no answers.

"The case has never advanced on from two or three minutes past 3 o'clock on that July day in 1998," Michael said.

Both he and Bernadette say it would mean so much to them to know where she is and what happened to their daughter.

"We hope and we pray for that," they said. 

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crimecall on 1800 40 50 60 or Newbridge Garda Station on 045 440 180.