Imelda Keenan’s family criticizes a new aged photo, believing it misleads about her fate after 30 years of searching for answers.
Waterford: The family of Imelda Keenan, who vanished over 30 years ago, is not happy with a new photo released by the Garda. They think it’s a total waste of time.
Yesterday marked 31 years since Imelda disappeared from Lombard Street. To mark the occasion, the Garda shared a computer-generated image of what she might look like today at 53. But her sister Mary and niece Gina feel it’s misleading.
Imelda was just 22 and studying in Waterford when she went missing. Her family believes she was murdered and thinks the photo gives false hope that she might still be alive.
Mary said, “That was definitely a waste of time. As far as my family knows, the day she went missing is the day Imelda died.” Gina added that the photo doesn’t look like Imelda to them. “Imelda is forever young in our lives,” she said.
The family wants the Garda to treat the case as a murder investigation. They believe Imelda could have died before January 3, the day she was last seen.
Mary insists there’s no evidence that Imelda is still out there. “Nothing has stirred since the day Imelda went missing,” she said. She also mentioned that Imelda would never have just run away.
Gina expressed frustration, saying, “Imelda would not run away. This is just so out of character.” They want the Garda to listen to them and focus on what they know.
In a recent appeal, Superintendent Gavin Hegarty mentioned that Imelda was last seen leaving her apartment on January 3. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Gardaí.
