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Mother of murdered Co Down woman Lisa Dorrian dies

Pat Dorrian (right), the mother of Lisa Dorrian (pictured left), who has died without discovering what happened to her daughter 
Pat Dorrian (right), the mother of Lisa Dorrian (pictured left), who has died without discovering what happened to her daughter  Pat Dorrian (right), the mother of Lisa Dorrian (pictured left), who has died without discovering what happened to her daughter 

THE death of murdered hairdresser Lisa Dorrian's mother before she could find out what happened her daughter has been described as "unspeakably cruel".

Pat Dorrian (59) died on Monday after a decade-long quest with her husband John to find the remains of their daughter, who police believed was murdered.

It is thought she was 'disappeared' by loyalists, although which faction was responsible has never been established.

Last night Oliver McVeigh, whose own mother Vera died without finding out where her son Columba's body was hidden by the IRA after his 1975 murder, said Lisa "would have been uppermost in her thoughts in those final moments".

Mrs Dorrian had been admitted to hospital on Sunday.

Lisa Dorrian, from Bangor, Co Down, was 25 years old when she disappeared after a party on a caravan site in the coastal village of Ballyhalbert on the Ards peninsula on February 28 2005.

Her body has never been found, despite a series of arrests, the identification of around 4,000 potential witnesses and more than 275 searches.

In June, convicted killer Jimmy Seales claimed her body had been transferred to a 40-gallon container and hidden in land at Ballygowan.

The millionaire farmer, who is serving a minimum 15-year jail term for the 2012 murder of Philip Strickland, told the Sunday Life that he had unknowingly bought the car used to move her body.

He also claimed police had unwittingly pulled the navy Vauxhall Vectra from a hedge near Bangor while Lisa's body was still in the boot.

Details of the death of Mrs Dorrian were given by the PSNI who said the family had a "strong desire for privacy at this difficult time".

"Mrs Dorrian was admitted to hospital on Sunday and died yesterday," a spokeswoman said.

"She is survived by husband John and daughters Joanne, Michelle and Ciara."

Oliver McVeigh said he has no doubt that the rest of the family will fight on for the return of Lisa's body.

"It must be terrible for her mother to have gone to her grave not finding her body, just like my own mother," he said.

"It's bad enough the dying and being disappeared, but still not to be found... It must have been uppermost in their thoughts in those final minutes."

In February, Mrs Dorrian joined other family members on the tenth anniversary of Lisa's disappearance to urge those who knew where her body was hidden to end their torment.

She said the family had struggled each and every day since her daughter went missing.

North Down assembly member Peter Weir said Mrs Dorrian and her family had "acted with resolution, determination and quiet dignity... throughout this whole appalling nightmare".

"She did not seek vengeance or retribution, but merely wanted to be reunited with the body of her daughter to give her a decent Christian burial.

"It is both heart breaking and unspeakably cruel that Pat passed away without ever finding out what happened to her daughter or her whereabouts."