Lisa's cousin appeals for information
Thursday, 28th February, will be the third anniversary of Lisa Dorrian's disappearance. The pretty 25-year-old Bangor shop assistant vanished from a caravan park in Ballyhalbert in the early hours of Monday 28th February 2005. Despite many public appeals, campaigns, advertising, and a £10,000 reward, no information has been forthcoming on her whereabouts. Lisa's family has accepted that in all probability she was murdered and her body concealed, but all they ask is for someone to give them the information that will enable the recovery of her body to allow them to give her a Christian burial.
The Revd Adrian Dorrian, who is a Church of Ireland curate in the Diocese of Down & Dromore, is Lisa's cousin. In the run up to the third anniversary of Lisa's disappearance, and with the permission of her immediate family, Adrian is publicly appealing for information on Lisa's whereabouts. He says:
"It hardly seems possible that it's three years since Lisa's disappearance. I was still a theological student in Dublin, training for the ministry. It all seemed a bit unbelievable at the time - the call from home told me Lisa was missing but it would be a couple more weeks before the term murder started being used. That period was a very difficult one for me - it was difficult to be away from home, hearing things over the phone and it was hard to come to terms with the fact that my cousin was gone. I can remember many long nights dwelling on what might have happened and many tearful prayers before God. Not a day goes by when I don't think of Lisa. Even now, at certain times of the year or when I see things that remind me of her, it's difficult.
"I'm Lisa's cousin. I can't even begin to imagine what it's like for her mum and dad, her sisters and her nephew who lives in the family home. To live daily not just with the knowledge that Lisa is gone but with the reality their daughter, sister, aunty is missing from their home - and that's not going to change. The way they have coped with these realities, the way they've kept Lisa's name in the public arena and the way they've continued to hope for justice has been inspirational to me and to many.
"As I've come before God, to pray for help for Lisa's family and to pray for a sense of conviction in those who have knowledge about her murder to reveal those details, I've been blessed by God in the knowledge that he knows, through his earthly pilgrimage, what suffering is. As I think of Lisa's final moments, I can only hope that she knew God was with her - as he is with all of us.
"I've also come to realise that the God we stand before is a God of justice. Justice is a difficult biblical concept at times, because the just nature of God is so beyond anything we can understand. I believe, though, that any sense of justice we do know in our hearts comes from God. I appeal to that sense of justice. Lisa wasn't alone in that caravan in Ballyhalbert three years ago. Others were there. I appeal and beg those who were there to realise that you can confidentially make a difference. It's too late to bring Lisa back, but it's not too late to help her family continue the healing process. Please help make a difference."
Supporting Adrian and the Dorrian family the Bishop of Down & Dromore, the Rt Revd Harold Miller, issued the following statement:
"In this season of Lent we become deeply aware of our mortality and our human sinfulness. I urge those responsible for Lisa's disappearance to make a move to resolve this situation - not only for the sake of the Dorrian family, but for the sake of their own souls."
The Lisa Dorrian website - http://www.lisadorrian.co.uk/ provides up-to-date information and messages of support, and also has a confidential message facility.