A priest who is a close friend of the Dullard family has spoken of their strength, courage and faith and how they have never lost hope that the remains of Jojo will be found.
Fr Willie Purcell told RTÉ radio’s Today with David McCullagh show that even the slightest indication that Jojo might be found gives the family immense hope.
There had been numerous searches over the years, but the Dollard family, like the family of Deirdre Jacobs, never lost hope, “because even the smallest piece of information keeps them going.”
Purcell said he has been humbled every time he spoke with Jojo’s sister Kathleen and the rest of the family. “Because of their strength and their courage and their faith in keeping the story of Jojo alive and never losing a sense that Jojo will be found.
“Somebody out there who has information, somebody who has passed on even the smallest amount of information, they are the people who are taking Jojo home.
"The information that's given, even the smallest amount of information, people sometimes think, well, that's irrelevant, and that doesn't matter after 30 years, and maybe I've got it wrong, and maybe I picked up something in a different way.
“But the smallest piece of information, it's like a jigsaw puzzle or a tapestry. A piece of thread or a piece of the jigsaw puzzle will bring the whole story together and will bring Jojo home.”
When asked what it would mean to the Dullard family to bring Jojo home, Purcell said: "Well, I suppose for Jojo's family, and again, for Deirdre's family, and indeed for all missing persons throughout the country, it's just to be able to lay her to rest with her family.
“It's to have a place to go where now her family knows she's safe.
"It's a place to kind of bring Jojo where Jojo was making her way home in 1995. And for them, all they want to do is just to have her home. All they want to do is just to be able to gather around a place where they can say, Jojo, for 30 years, we've searched for you, and now you're safe.”
The new search, which commenced this week, was giving the family a renewed sense of the possibility that this will bring closure, he added.
“And for them, that's why they never lose hope, because if you lose hope, you lose everything.
"If you lose hope, you lose the person. So again, talking to Kathleen yesterday, and Kathleen very beautifully said, you know, by keeping this hope alive, we're keeping Jojo alive in our hearts. And by never losing sight of Jojo, and by constantly hoping that Jojo will come back, then she's not lost. She's not missing.”
