A search at a Co Wicklow quarry, as part of the investigation into the disappearance and murders of Deirdre Jacob and Jo Jo Dullard in the 1990s, has concluded for the day.
Gardaí will resume the search of the site located near the Wicklow/Kildare border tomorrow.
The search began yesterday and is expected to last a number of days.
An excavator has been digging in the quarry in the presence of a number of gardaí as part of the operation, which is being led by the Serious Crime Review Team and Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation
In the late 1990s, Operation Trace investigated the cases of six missing women who disappeared over a number of years from Leinster without a trace.
The former national co-ordinator of Operation Trace has said that the discovery of remains would give the families closure.
Retired Detective Garda Sergeant Alan Bailey said that the families have had "a lot of false dawns" following various searches since the women disappeared.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said: "Even to find the bodies would bring huge closure to the families.
"They've had a lot of false dawns in relation to various garda searches over the years that unfortunately didn't work out.
"I'd be hopeful something will come up which will help the families on this occasion."
Mr Bailey said over the course of Operation Trace, gardaí were satisfied that there was only a "tenuous" link between the disappearances.
"Certainly in three of the cases, we were satisfied that the culprits were known to the victims and not known to one another," he said.
Both were last seen in Co Kildare - 21-year-old Jo Jo in 1995 in Moone and 18-year-old Deirdre in 1998 in Newbridge.
It is understood gardaí are acting on information they deem sufficient to carry out the dig.
Their focus is on uncovering items that may have evidential value.
Cold case review teams have been aware of the site for some time, but this is the first formal search of the area.
Mr Bailey said the fact that both Jo Jo Dullard and Deirdre Jacob "were on the open road" when they disappeared and that the "areas where they went missing, they're about 25km apart, about a 20-minute drive between the two. So in that respect, you'd have to look at them jointly."
Meanwhile, a friend of Jo Jo Dullard's family has said that there is a renewed sense of hope after the searches got under way yesterday.
"There's an immense sense of hope in Jo Jo's family, because every piece of information that is revealed and every search that continues gives them more hope," said Fr Willie Purcell on RTÉ's Today with David McCullagh.
"Even though in the past perhaps their hopes have been dashed, this again just renews the hope that Jo Jo will be found."
He also highlighted the importance of information being shared to gardaí.
"The importance of even the smallest piece of information can lead to finding Jo Jo or Deirdre," he said.
Fr Purcell said that Jo Jo is remembered by her family, who light a candle for her every day.
"They're waiting for that one phone call, or maybe the garda who arrives at the door and says, 'We think we found her'.
"It really is just to bring closure to a story that has been going for 31 years, and for them to lay Jo Jo to rest," he said.
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Gardaí say they are keeping an open mind and the two families informed.
They have appealed to anyone with information about the cases, no matter how small or insignificant they may feel it is, to contact them.
Anyone who would like to provide information confidentially should contact the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
Podcast: The search for Jo Jo Dullard and Deirdre Jacob
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