A search in Co Offaly for the remains of Fiona Pender who went missing almost 29 years ago has ended.
Gardaí say their investigation into the murder of the 25-year-old who went missing in Tullamore in August 1996 is ongoing.
Gardaí say the results of the searches are not being released for operational reasons.
They said they have updated the family on any developments.
Since yesterday morning specialist gardaí have been searching a small remote area at Graigue near Killeigh village, just off the main road between Tullamore and Portlaoise.
Fiona Pender was last seen on 23 August 1996 at her flat on Church Street in Tullamore. She was seven months pregnant at the time of her disappearance.
While gardaí long suspected Ms Pender had been murdered and had a chief suspect, the case was, until recently, a missing persons investigation.
The person from the midlands emigrated from Ireland.
Over the almost 29 years, extensive enquiries have been made and searches were carried out in Co Laois, near Mountrath and Rosenalis, but no trace of Ms Pender, a hairdresser and part-time model, was ever found.
In 1997, five people were arrested as part of the investigation but were released without charge.
Gardaí say over 300 statements have been taken and thousands of documents have been gathered, however to date no one has ever been charged in connection with Ms Pender's disappearance.
Over the years, Fiona Pender's mother Josephine campaigned tirelessly for a breakthrough in the case, continuously appealing for information to find her daughter. She died in 2017.
A memorial has been erected along the Grand Canal in Tullamore in memory of Fiona Pender.
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Local woman Olive Davis recalled meeting Ms Pender the day before her disappearance.
She said: "I remember seeing her in Dunnes Stores just before she went missing with her mother and I remember saying hello to Fiona, and hello to Mrs Pender and then I heard she was missing.
"It was a shock, she was seven months pregnant. There was a real sadness over the town and everywhere and still is."
Ms Davis said in the 29 years since her disappearance, Ms Pender has never been forgotten.
"Her name has been in a parish bulletin every week since August 1996 praying for her and anyone who passes this memorial, you can't help but think about her," she said.
People in Tullamore - including her many friends - are hopeful of a breakthrough in the investigation.
"I just hope, I hope they find her for her brother. I know the poor Mum, she died a few years ago and it devastated her.
"The family need closure and for the town, I just think we need it, it's very sad, sad for everybody, everybody involved," she added.
