Gardaí investigating the murders of Jo Jo Dullard and Deirdre Jacob are to carry out a new search on open ground in Co Wicklow.
An area of land near the Kildare border will be searched and subject to excavation and forensic examinations over the coming days.
A a major excavation at a disused quarry at Castleruddery Upper, Co Wicklow, took place in February as part of the search for the two women. The Garda operation commenced on Monday is taking place at the same quarry.
Three large diggers and a bulldozer, along with a number of gardaí, were at the site on Monday.
In a statement on Monday morning, Garda Headquarters said a technical ground survey of the area was carried out last week with assistance from the Defence Forces.
The search operation, which is being led by the Serious Crime Review Team, is due to begin on Monday.
“An Garda Síochána has been and continues to keep the families of Jo Jo Dullard and Deirdre Jacob updated in relation to these investigations,” Garda Headquarters said.
[ Disappearances of Jo Jo Dullard and Deirdre Jacob continue to confoundOpens in new window ]
Josephine ’Jo Jo’ Dullard went missing on November 9th, 1995, while on her way home to Callan, Co Kilkenny, after socialising in Bruxelles bar on Dublin’s Harry Street.
The 21-year-old missed her last bus to Kilkenny and instead boarded a 10pm bus to Naas, Co Kildare, intending to hitchhike the rest of the way home.
[ ‘Her disappearance left a silence’: Jo Jo Dullard’s family mark 30th anniversaryOpens in new window ]
Deirdre Jacob was last seen near her home at Roseberry, Newbridge, Co Kildare, at about 3pm on July 28th, 1998.
She was 18 years old at the time of her disappearance and had just completed one year at St Mary’s University in London.
Josephine Jo Jo Dollard and Deirdre Jacob were last seen in the 1990s
At the time of the search in February, Gardaí were acting on information, which they deemed credible, of a suspicious burial at the site, perhaps of human remains in a vehicle, back in the late 1990s.
On Monday, Garda Headquarters renewed its appeal to “anyone with any information, no matter how small or insignificant you might believe it to be”, to contact Kildare Garda station.