Gardaí investigating the disappearance of Offaly woman Fiona Pender over 11 years ago have begun to search an area on the Laois-Offaly border.
The search of the Slieve Bloom area began yesterday after a tip-off from a member of the public.
Fiona Pender was last seen at her flat in Tullamore at approximately 6am on August 23,1996.
The then 25-year-old was seven months pregnant at the time, and had spent the previous day shopping for baby clothes with her mother in Tullamore.
A major search was carried out at the time but found no trace of her whereabouts.