A major search has begun in County Donegal for a doctor who went missing almost 10 years ago.
Dr Deirdre O’Flaherty was also known by her maiden name of Deirdre Donnelly
Deirdre O’Flaherty, a GP based in Strabane in Northern Ireland, has not been seen since January 11th, 2009 when her car was found at Kinnego beach with the keys in the car. She had been staying with her husband and children at a holiday home nearby. Despite an extensive air and sea search the mother-of-three was never found. Notes to her three children were found in the family holiday home and it is believed she suffered from depression.
Irish police said a land search and excavation has now begun in the Milford area of County Donegal. It is expected to last up to five days. The search will be carried out by members of the Donegal Divisional Search Team and Garda Technical Bureau along with private contractors.
A police spokesman said: “This development continues to form part of a missing person investigation and there is no change of status regarding same,”
Three years after her disappearance a High Court in Belfast ruled that Dr O’Flaherty had died. It was the first time that legislation allowing the court to declare a missing person dead was used in Northern Ireland. The judge ruled that Dr O’Flaherty had entered the sea and drowned on 11 January 2009.
