A WOMAN was being held at Ballina Garda station in Co Mayo last night in connection with the disappearance of a 29-year-old woman in the nearby seaside village of Killala more than 10 years ago.
The 21-year-old was arrested yesterday morning for questioning about the disappearance of Sandra Collins on the night of December 4th, 2000.
Ms Collins visited a shop in Killala at 7.45pm that night, and was last seen at a takeaway on George’s Street at 11pm.
In a potential breakthrough in the case some weeks ago, the presence of a white van in the vicinity of George’s Street between 11pm and midnight was confirmed to gardaí.
The woman was being held last night for questioning under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.
She can be held without charge for an initial period of 24 hours.
Supt Peter O’Boyle, who is heading the investigation, described the arrest as “a significant development”.
He said it was the first arrest in the case since a renewed appeal for information was issued last December on the 10th anniversary of Ms Collins’s disappearance.
Gardaí have repeated their appeal for anybody with information about the van, or the case generally, to come forward.