The sister of a Waterford man, missing almost 20 years, says 'closure' is still an abstract idea for them.
Gerard Seward from Ardmore is one of 876 people who are being remembered on National Missing Person's Day today.
The then 24-year-old went missing on the 27th of January, 2002 and his car and boots were later found on Ballyquin Beach.
His sister, Ann, told Déise Today no trace of Gerard has ever been found:
"I suppose it's just that it's never put to bed. And you know, this idea of closure is interesting. We've never had it.
"Like, I remember when the DNA database opened up, Mam and Dad's DNA samples were taken and then there were other bodies or partial remains found in Wales or this place and that place... And then you get that pang again.
"But we get the strength somewhere to keep going. I don't know, is that hope? And before you know it, you're 20 years on."
Ann says she does feel in a way more fortunate than some other families as they at least have an idea of what might have happened to Gerard.
However, she says it was difficult for the family to keep going despite their heartbreak:
"I had my daughter six weeks afterwards, and then everything was 'oh we'll find him now when she's born'. There was this kind of a thing about every milestone, something would happen.
"And Dad was always saying, 'He'll be brought in by the trawlers'. Dad would be practical, a practical farmer, you know.
"But yes, it is a message of hope and it is him saying to us just to get on with life."
Ann also told Damien Tiernan that she personally finds comfort in visiting Ballyquin Beach:
"Some of my extended family find it very hard. But we actually find it a place of solace, because that's where he is. I feel that's where he is.
"It's where his spirit is. That's where his big smile is. And he's watching and he's there with us."
You can listen back to Ann's full interview here.
