Member's statement: Lisa Dorrian
Member's statement by Ms Connie Egan on .
- MLA
- Ms Connie Egan
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 24 February 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Lisa Dorrian
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4813413
Read the official Assembly record
Text
This week marks 20 years since Lisa Dorrian went missing. Lisa was from Bangor, and she was 25 years old when she went missing on 28 February 2005. She was last seen in a caravan park in Ballyhalbert, where she had been at a party. Lisa went missing that evening, and the police believe her to be dead, but her body has never been located. Lisa's disappearance shocked people not just from the area but from across Northern Ireland. A beautiful young woman, with her whole life ahead of her, just disappeared. It is a travesty that she has still not been found, 20 years later. Lisa left behind her parents, Patricia and John, and her siblings Joanne, Michelle and Ciara. It is hard to imagine the pain and torment that they have had to endure. Tragically, Lisa's mother, Patricia, passed in 2015, having never got answers, justice or a proper burial for her daughter. The family have been campaigning now for 20 years with the simple message "Let's find Lisa". Incredibly, they have used their grief to help others. The Dorrian family has been outspoken in calling for the introduction of Charlotte's law in Northern Ireland, which would increase the sentence for murderers here who do not disclose the location of their victim's body. The family has worked with the Minister of Justice and the family of Charlotte Murray to ensure that that law will be delivered. Lisa's sister Joanne is the chair of K9 Search and Rescue, a charity based in north Down that conducts search-and-rescue missions to help families who have missing loved ones. That work speaks to the dignity and strength with which the Dorrian family has campaigned for truth and justice. It is remarkable. Today, I appeal to anyone with information to come forward to the PSNI. Twenty years on, we know that there are people in our community who know what happened to Lisa. I urge them to search their conscience and do the right thing. It is not too late: "Let's find Lisa".
340 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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