Disappearance of Lisa Dorrian

Born in 1979, Lisa Dorrian was living in Bangor, County Down, and working as a shop assistant around the time she went missing. In the summer of 2004, Dorrian broke up with Jamie Mills, her boyfriend of four years,{{Cite news |date=22 June 2005|title=EXCLUSIVE: FORMER BOYFRIEND OF LISA DORRIAN|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/exclusive-former-boyfriend-of-lisa-dorrian-547850|newspaper=Daily Mirror|language=en|archive-date=27 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250227220844/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/exclusive-former-boyfriend-of-lisa-dorrian-547850 |url-status=live }} and started hanging out with a new group of friends, whom her family alleged were heavy drug users and had connections to organised crime.{{Cite news |date=13 March 2022|title=Lisa Dorrian murder - While we were out searching, I remember thinking we'll find her by her big fluffy white boots|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/lisa-dorrian-murder-while-we-were-out-searching-i-remember-thinking-well-find-her-by-her-big-fluffy-white-boots/41440991.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|language=en|archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250226133023/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/lisa-dorrian-murder-while-we-were-out-searching-i-remember-thinking-well-find-her-by-her-big-fluffy-white-boots/41440991.html |url-status=live }} She also began using Ecstasy and amphetamines on a regular basis, which were purportedly sourced from Loyalist paramilitaries.{{Cite news |date=31 July 2005|title=

Looking for Lisa|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jul/31/northernireland.ukcrime|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=23 April 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140423173611/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jul/31/northernireland.ukcrime |url-status=live }} She had planned to move to Spain and set up a jet-ski rental business with £50,000 in personal injury compensation she was due to receive in mid-2005.{{Cite news |date=7 August 2005|title=Drugs, guns and the rule of pure fear|url=https://www.independent.ie/news/drugs-guns-and-the-rule-of-pure-fear/26211410.html|newspaper=Irish Independent|language=en}}

On the weekend of her disappearance, Dorrian had spent Friday night out socialising in Groomsport, before going to a friend's house in Ballywalter. The next afternoon, she visited a pub near Kircubbin before heading to a party in Ballyhalbert. That evening, she returned to her apartment in Bangor for a few hours,{{Cite news |date=28 February 2006|title=THE LOST WEEKEND - EXCLUSIVE Lisa sleeps less than 10hrs Travels 100 miles in 3 cars Takes drink & drugs at parties|url=https://archive.today/20250304153300/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/THE+LOST+WEEKEND;+EXCLUSIVE+Lisa+sleeps+less+than+10hrs+Travels+100...-a0142606017#selection-701.38-701.49|newspaper=Daily Mirror|language=en }} before going to the house of Naomi Drysdale in Ballyhalbert for another party. Later that day, after first visiting an off-licence in Portavogie, Dorrian then went to the deserted Ballyhalbert Caravan Park for an after party on Sunday 27 February 2005. At the time, she was dressed in a white tee-shirt, cream coloured tracksuit bottoms and white furry "moon" boots.{{cite web|url=https://www.psni.police.uk/news/appeals-information/long-term-missing-persons/lisa-dorrian|title=Long Term Missing Persons - Lisa Dorrian |work=P.S.N.I }} About a dozen other people also attended, including Mark Lovett, the 17-year-old groundsman of the caravan park. Eventually, people started leaving the party, until only Dorrian and Lovett remained in caravan at around 10 pm. Both of them were later described by witnesses at the scene to have been under the influence of recreational drugs.{{Cite news |date=3 March 2024|title=Lisa Dorrian murder timeline as family tells killer 'This is not over for us and it's not over for you'|url=https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/lisa-dorrian-murder-timeline-family-28736360|newspaper=Belfast Live|language=en|archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250226085004/https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/lisa-dorrian-murder-timeline-family-28736360 |url-status=live}}

On the evening of Tuesday 1 March 2005, Dorrian's younger sister Joanne received a phone call from Lisa's flat mate to inform her that Lisa had not returned home since before the weekend. Joanne became concerned for her welfare after she tried to contact Lisa and the phone calls went unanswered.{{Cite news |date=28 February 2021|title=Our sister went missing 16 years ago and we're desperate to find out what really happened to her | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/life/sister-went-missing-16-years-ago-desperate-find-really-happened/|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|language=en|archive-date=1 March 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210301113945/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/life/sister-went-missing-16-years-ago-desperate-find-really-happened/|url-status=live }} When the Dorrian family met with Mark Lovett later that night, they described him as being in an emotionally distressed and tearful state.

Lovett told the police that he and Dorrian had seen flashing lights and heard loud noises outside the caravan at around 4:45 am on the morning she disappeared. They exited the caravan, then ran away in fear. As it was out of season, the caravan park street lights were shut off and Lovett claimed he lost track of her while running through the darkness. He asserted that did not know where Dorrian went to after they became separated; and when he called her mobile phone, it was answered by her former boyfriend, Stevie Thompson. Over the next few days, PSNI officers searched the along the Ards Peninsula, while divers checked underwater along the coast.{{Cite news |date=11 March 2005|title=PSNI widen search for Co Down woman|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0306/60638-dorrianl/|newspaper=RTE News|language=en}}

On 10 March 2005, after finding no trace of Dorrian or any evidence to suggest she was still alive, the PSNI escalated their missing persons case to a murder investigation.{{Cite news |date=10 March 2005|title=Murder inquiry into Dorrian disappearance|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0310/60787-dorrianl/|newspaper=RTE News|language=en}} Joanne Dorrian would later remark that detectives encountered a wall of silence during their enquiries and that none of the dozen or so people who attended the party with her ever voluntarily gave information to the PSNI or approached the Dorrian family with messages of sympathy.

Detectives working on the case soon identified and questioned all of the other caravan owners who had been on site the night Dorrian disappeared, but none of them could recall hearing loud noises or seeing flashing lights early on the morning of 28 February. Police interviews with Stevie Thompson also revealed that Dorrian had returned a phone he bought for her when they ended their relationship a few days before she went missing. Thompson told detectives that when he answered a 5 am call from Mark Lovett on that phone he was at an apartment in Ballywalter with two other people,{{Cite news |date=27 May 2005|title=Different versions of Lisa call|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4588417.stm|newspaper=BBC News|language=en|archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250226142726/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4588417.stm |url-status=live }} and that although Lovett did enquire about Dorrian's whereabouts, he did not sound distressed or panicked during their conversation.

On 10 March 2005, two men were arrested by the PSNI in County Antrim in connection with Dorrian's murder, but were released without charge after 24 hours of questioning.{{Cite news |date=11 March 2005|title=Two men released in Co Down murder probe

|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0311/60831-dorrianl/|newspaper=RTE News|language=en}} Then on 14 June 2005, an 18-year-old man was arrested by the PSNI in the Greater Belfast area for questioning regarding Dorrian's murder.{{Cite news |date=14 June 2005|title=Man questioned over Dorrian murder

|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0614/64270-dorrianl/|newspaper=RTE News|language=en}} On 11 August 2005, a 22-year-old man was arrested by the PSNI regarding Dorrian's murder.{{Cite news |date=11 August 2005|title=Man held in Lisa Dorrian death probe|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0811/66404-dorrianl/|newspaper=RTE News|language=en}} Three men, two aged 18 and a 23-year-old man, were arrested by the PSNI in relation to Dorrian's murder on 20 February 2006.{{Cite news |date=20 February 2006|title=Three held in Dorrian murder investigation|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0220/73240-dorrianl/|newspaper=RTE News|language=en}}

A few days later, at a news conference in Bangor on 22 February 2006, Detective Superintendent George Hamilton announced that the PSNI had reason to believe that Dorrian's dead body may have been dumped at sea between late June and early August 2005, having first been stored somewhere on land. Police asked the public to submit information on a 17-foot long orange / red coloured boat that may have been used in the disposal of her remains.{{Cite news |date=22 February 2006|title=Police suspect Lisa Dorrian's body dumped at sea|url=https://www.4ni.co.uk/northern-ireland-news/48603/police-suspect-lisa-dorrian-s-body-dumped-at-sea|newspaper=4ni News|language=en}}

On 16 October 2012, the PSNI conducted a search in Comber for evidence relating to her disappearance, specifically for a vehicle that could have been used in relation to her murder.{{Cite news |date=16 October 2012|title=Lisa Dorrian: Police search land in Comber|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-19972202|newspaper=BBC News|language=en }} On 15 February 2016, the PSNI began searching an area of farmland outside Comber for the body after new information was provided to detectives. As well as using cadaver dogs, the officers involved physically searched the undergrowth for evidence of human remains.{{Cite news |date= 15 February 2016|title=Lisa Dorrian: Fresh searches for body of missing hairdresser who disappeared 11 years ago|url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/lisa-dorrian-fresh-searches-for-body-of-missing-hairdresser-who-disappeared-11-years-ago/34455194.html|newspaper=Irish Independent|language=en }}

On 28 June 2018, the PSNI searched wooded areas in Craigantlet and Carrickfergus using specially trained sniffer dogs in the hope of finding the body.{{Cite news |date=29 June 2018|title=Lisa Dorrian - Wooded areas searched for murdered woman|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-44660886|newspaper=BBC News|language=en }} Rather than acting on specific information, the searches were prompted after data relating to the case was fed into a specialist UK police database, which then used analytic algorithms to logically predict how far from the scene of the crime her killer might have travelled to dump her body. Detectives working on the case stated that they believed her remains were disposed of relatively quickly and with minimal planning after she was murdered.{{Cite news |date=29 June 2018|title=Lisa Dorrian murder police carry out fresh searches for Bangor woman's remains|url=https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/lisa-dorrian-murder-police-carry-14844366|newspaper=Belfast Live|language=en }}

On 2 April 2019, after receiving fresh information, the PSNI launched a new search for the body at the Ballyhalbert caravan park she was last seen alive in. The police focused on a derelict World War II-era airfield named RAF Ballyhalbert beside the caravan park, using ground penetrating radar to examine several underground tunnels and buildings in the area.{{Cite news |date=2 April 2019|title=PSNI begins new search for woman missing since 2005|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/ulster/2019/0402/1040247-lisa-dorrian-search/|newspaper=RTE News|language=en}} On 5 April 2019, a 49-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman were arrested by the PSNI in the Newtownards area for questioning regarding Dorrian's murder, but were released on bail pending further inquiries after 24 hours of questioning.{{Cite news |date=5 April 2019|title=Two people arrested on suspicion of murder of woman who was last seen alive in 2005|url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/two-people-arrested-on-suspicion-of-murder-of-woman-who-was-last-seen-alive-in-2005/37986765.html|newspaper=Irish Independent|language=en }}{{Cite news |date= 6 April 2019|title=Two released on bail in Lisa Dorrian murder investigation

|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/crime/2019/0405/1040844-lisa-dorrian/|newspaper=RTE News|language=en}} According to the Belfast Telegraph, the man was a former member of the staff at the Ballyhalbert caravan park, to whom Mark Lovett allegedly ran screaming for help at 4:45 am on the morning of Dorrian's disappearance. The same newspaper also reported that 34-year-old Naomi Drysdale was arrested for questioning in 2019, before being released without charge.

On 4 May 2021, the PSNI launched a new search for the body in an area known as The Clay Pits close to Ballyhalbert. Although the lakes and ponds had been checked previously when Dorrian was still considered a missing person, the new searches involved police divers performing a fingertip search of the bottom of each area of water.{{Cite news |date= 4 May 2021|title=New search in Co Down for woman missing since 2005

|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/ulster/2021/0504/1213688-lisa-dorrian-search/|newspaper=RTE News|language=en}}{{Cite news |date= 2 June 2021|title=Fresh search for missing Bangor woman Lisa Dorrian finds no evidence

|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/ulster/2021/0602/1225656-lisa-dorrian-search/|newspaper=RTE News|language=en}}

On 27 February 2025, the PSNI released a CCTV video clip of Dorrian visiting the Saltwater Brig gastro pub a few miles from Kircubbin shortly after 1 pm on 26 February 2005, in the hope that this last known footage of her would jog the memories of potential witnesses who might have interacted with her along the Ards Peninsula on the weekend she disappeared. The press release also contained still images of her outside the Lock & Quay pub in Groomsport just before 11 pm the previous evening.{{Cite news |date=27 February 2025|title=Last known CCTV footage of missing Lisa Dorrian released 20 years after disappearance|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/last-known-cctv-footage-of-missing-lisa-dorrian-released-20-years-after-disappearance/a2078991097.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|language=en}} On the same day, independent charity Crimestoppers announced a £20,000 reward for information that led to the conviction of her murderer or that resulted in the recovery of her remains.{{cite web|url=https://www.psni.police.uk/latest-news/appeal-information-20th-anniversary-disappearance-and-murder-lisa-dorrian-0|title=Appeal for information on the 20th anniversary of the disappearance and murder of Lisa Dorrian|work=P.S.N.I }}

On 28 February 2025, the 20th anniversary of her older sister's disappearance, Joanne Dorrian revealed that six people had come forward with new information in the previous 24 hours, which had then been shared with the authorities. She thanked those who got in touch and appealed for anyone else with relevant information to submit it to the investigation team.{{Cite news |date=28 February 2025|title=Lisa Dorrian suspects- Sister of missing woman thanks those who 'unburdened' themselves to her after 20th anniversary appeal|url=https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/crime/lisa-dorrian-suspects-sister-of-missing-woman-thanks-those-who-unburdened-themselves-to-her-after-20th-anniversary-appeal-5012789|newspaper=Belfast News Letter|language=en}}

In the summer of 2005, reports began to appear in the media that individuals involved in local drug trafficking were somehow involved in Dorrian's disappearance. In May 2005, a newspaper claimed that the chief suspects in her murder were two brothers who were alleged to be involved in drug dealing around east Belfast.{{Cite news |date=27 May 2005|title=Special Branch protecting Lisa’s killers ?|url=https://archive.today/20250301180116/https://saoirse32.wordpress.com/2005/05/27/special-branch-protecting-lisas-killers/|newspaper=Daily Ireland |language=en}} Also in May 2005, BBC News published an article with allegations that Dorrian had previously been harassed by two men who she owed money to for drugs, along with another claim that she was storing £20,000 in cash on behalf of another individual at her flat in Bangor.{{Cite news |date=27 May 2005|title=Different versions of Lisa call|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4588417.stm|newspaper=BBC News|language=en|archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250226142726/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4588417.stm |url-status=live }} In July 2005, the Herald Scotland published an article with allegations that Dorrian had earlier stolen £200 worth of amphetamine powder from a drug dealers' stash in Ballywalter on the day she disappeared.{{Cite news |date=2 July 2005|title=THE SOUND Of SILENCE|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12486813.the-sound-fo-silence-lisa-dorrian-has-been-missing-for-four-monthsher-family-believe-she-was-murdered-by-loyalist-terroristsshe-is-just-the-latest-in-a-long-line-of-northern-irelands-disappearedso-why-does-nobody-seem-to-care/|newspaper=The Herald (Glasgow)|language=en|archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250226142403/https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12486813.the-sound-fo-silence-lisa-dorrian-has-been-missing-for-four-monthsher-family-believe-she-was-murdered-by-loyalist-terroristsshe-is-just-the-latest-in-a-long-line-of-northern-irelands-disappearedso-why-does-nobody-seem-to-care/ |url-status=live }}

A July 2005 The Guardian newspaper claimed that Dorrian, after stepping outside to receive a phone call, had been lured from the caravan party to a house in Ballyhalbert around 5am on the morning she disappeared. Once inside the property, she was allegedly interrogated about missing drugs and money by two men, who then subjected her to a physical assault. Dorrian's captors are then supposed to have driven her against her will to a house in Hollywood on the outskirts of Belfast, where another punishment beating took place that ultimately resulted in her death. Upon realising they had accidentally killed Dorrian, the two men hurriedly disposed of her dead body in a forest somewhere in north County Down.

In August 2005, PSNI officers searched a boat near Portaferry belonging to 22-year-old Mark Smyth, after receiving information that Dorrian's body may have been dumped at sea.{{Cite news |date=16 September 2005|title=Body dumped in water - PSNI

|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/body-dumped-in-water-psni-1.493042|newspaper=Irish Times|language=en|archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250226164406/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/body-dumped-in-water-psni-1.493042|url-status=live }} On board, the officers recovered 1,200 Ecstasy tablets, cannabis and half a kilogram of amphetamine powder. At a subsequent hearing at Belfast High Court, it was revealed that the haul had an estimated street value of £30,000 and that another drugs seizure in south Belfast worth £17,000 was found to have Smyth's fingerprints on the packaging.{{Cite news |date=6 August 2006|title=Court refuses drugs accused bail|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/5238950.stm|newspaper=BBC News|language=en }}{{Cite news |date=25 March 2007|title=Lisa suspect jailed|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/lisa-suspect-jailed/28400071.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|language=en|archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250226164554/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/lisa-suspect-jailed/28400071.html|url-status=live }}Smyth, who had previously admitted giving Dorrian a lift to Ballyhalbert the day before she disappeared and who some media outlets described as the main person of interest in Dorrian's murder, was later sentenced to four years in prison after admitting possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply.{{Cite news |date=25 March 2007|title=Lisa suspect jailed|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/lisa-suspect-jailed/28400071.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|language=en|archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250226164554/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/lisa-suspect-jailed/28400071.html|url-status=live }} In February 2006, graffiti naming Smyth as the person who killed Dorrian appeared around Belfast.{{Cite news |date=19 February 2006|title=Graffiti threat man denies Lisa's murder|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/graffiti-threat-man-denies-lisas-murder/28108677.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|language=en}} Smyth consistently denied being involved in Dorrian's disappearance, asserting that mobile phone forensics proved he was in Bangor on the night in question, and in 2014 he undertook a voluntary lie detector test in an effort to prove his innocence.{{Cite news |date=4 August 2014|title=Lisa Dorrian - Man who denies murdering missing Bangor woman unable to pass lie detector test to prove innocence|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/lisa-dorrian-man-who-denies-murdering-missing-bangor-woman-unable-to-pass-lie-detector-test-to-prove-innocence/30481667.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|language=en|archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250226150805/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/lisa-dorrian-man-who-denies-murdering-missing-bangor-woman-unable-to-pass-lie-detector-test-to-prove-innocence/30481667.html|url-status=live }}

Although he had previously been questioned by police in relation to Dorrian's murder, over the next few years Smyth was officially ruled out as a suspect by the PSNI. His younger brother Adam Smyth, who in 2007 was sentenced to 20 years in prison for attempted murder in relation to an unprovoked stabbing attack,{{Cite news |date=30 June 2011|title=Adam Smyth's appeal over knife attack rejected|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-13977209|newspaper=BBC News|language=en }} had also previously been arrested on suspicion of Dorrian's murder and later released without charge.{{Cite news |date=23 December 2007|title=Knife thug serving 20 years is Dorrian murder suspect

|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/knife-thug-serving-20-years-is-dorrian-murder-suspect/28405561.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|language=en|archive-date=28 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250228092151/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/knife-thug-serving-20-years-is-dorrian-murder-suspect/28405561.html#selection-3165.91-3165.125|url-status=live }} According to media reports, other members of Smyth's friendship group who were originally questioned as suspects, but then subsequently cleared of any involvement by the authorities, included Marty Peacock and Lisa's ex-boyfriend at the time Stevie Thompson, from whom she had allegedly stolen drugs.

In a July 2015 newspaper interview at Maghaberry Prison, convicted murderer Jimmy Seales claimed that Dorrian was killed at the Ballyhalbert caravan site by drug dealers to whom she was in debt to for £20,000. Seales further alleged that he unwittingly bought the car used to transport her dead body a couple of days later and that later that week the PSNI arrived at his scrapyard in Comber to seize the car as potential evidence.{{Cite news |date=1 July 2015|title=Lisa Dorrian murder - 'I know where Lisa's body is buried,' says jailed millionaire farmer|url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/lisa-dorrian-murder-i-know-where-lisas-body-is-buried-says-jailed-millionaire-farmer/31343381.html|newspaper=Irish Independent|language=en}} Seales also asserted that the PSNI carried out searches of land belonging to him near Comber in 2012 in relation to Dorrian's disappearance.{{Cite news |date=24 February 2014|title=Murderer Jimmy Seales' farm linked to probe over missing Lisa Dorrian|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/murderer-jimmy-seales-farm-linked-to-probe-over-missing-lisa-dorrian/30035864.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|language=en}} According to Seales, he was later informed that Dorrian's dead body was placed in a 40-gallon oil drum, which was then welded shut and buried near Ballygowan at an illegal landfill.{{Cite news |date=28 June 2015|title=Lisa Dorrian - Prisoner's claims about where body is buried|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-33304347|newspaper=BBC News|language=en}}

In 2017 it was revealed that Mark Lovett (who was the last confirmed person to see Dorrian alive) had previously been arrested on suspicion of Dorrian's murder, but had then been released without charge after denying any involvement in her disappearance and had refused to engage with authorities ever since.{{Cite news |date=7 March 2017|title=Lisa Dorrian's family call on last man to see her alive to break his silence|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/lisa-dorrians-family-call-on-last-man-to-see-her-alive-to-break-his-silence/35509364.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|language=en|archive-date=28 August 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240828162811/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/lisa-dorrians-family-call-on-last-man-to-see-her-alive-to-break-his-silence/35509364.html |url-status=live }} A witness who was at the caravan party had previously described to police how Dorrian and Lovett were "hallucinating" when he left and that he later phoned Lovett around 1:15 am on the night in question to check on their welfare. According to the witness, Lovett rambled incoherently during the conversation and made a remark about "seeing things", before abruptly ending the call.

A newspaper also revealed in February 2019 that detectives investigating her murder, which they did not consider to be pre-planned, now believed that Dorrian's panicked killer summoned his father to the caravan park at Ballyhalbert to help dispose of her remains. They then placed Dorrian's body in the boot of his car and drove to a nearby location to secretly bury her. According to the article, detectives came to this conclusion due to the fact killer and his accomplice had not informed on each other in the intervening years, which indicated a close family connection.{{Cite news |date=25 February 2019|title=Father and son chief suspects in murder of Lisa Dorrian|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/father-and-son-chief-suspects-in-murder-of-lisa-dorrian/37845841.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|language=en|archive-date=28 December 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241228080531/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/father-and-son-chief-suspects-in-murder-of-lisa-dorrian/37845841.html |url-status=live }}

In March 2022, a BBC documentary series, Murder in the Badlands, which examined the unsolved murders of four women in Northern Ireland over the previous 40 years, featured the case of Lisa Dorrian in its first episode.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL97dWn3lQ8|title=Murder in the Badlands - S1:E1 - The Murder of Lisa Dorrian|work=YouTube }}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0015j4b|title=Murder in the Badlands - The Murder of Lisa Dorrian |work=BBC One }}

In the days after Dorrian's disappearance, graffiti appeared around Ballyhalbert accusing the Loyalist Volunteer Force of being involved in her murder,{{Cite news |date=12 March 2005|title=Loyalist paramilitaries accused of link to Dorrian disappearance|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-30193350.html|newspaper=Irish Examiner|language=en|archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250226093321/https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-30193350.html |url-status=live}} while it was claimed that the chief suspects in her homicide were two LVF drug dealers from east Belfast. However, in a 2005 interview with the Belfast Telegraph a representative of the LVF denied any involvement in her disappearance and encouraged anyone with information to contact the PSNI. The unnamed LVF member added that the graffiti was in fact an effort to divert attention away from the real persons who were responsible.{{Cite news |date=14 March 2005|title=Terror group denies role in Lisa murder

|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/terror-group-denies-role-in-lisa-murder/28243949.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|language=en}}

In 2019 a newspaper alleged that the father of Dorrian's killer was a member of the Red Hand Commando and that the two men also had family connections to a senior member of the Ulster Volunteer Force from the Rathcoole area.{{Cite news |date=6 March 2019|title=Lisa Dorrian's killer being harboured by UVF|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/lisa-dorrians-killer-being-harboured-by-uvf/37871538.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|language=en|archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250226115214/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/lisa-dorrians-killer-being-harboured-by-uvf/37871538.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=6 June 2021|title=Lisa Dorrian - PSNI still pin hopes on UVF assistance to finally find her remains|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/lisa-dorrian-psni-still-pin-hopes-on-uvf-assistance-to-finally-find-her-remains/40505608.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|language=en|archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250226132919/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/lisa-dorrian-psni-still-pin-hopes-on-uvf-assistance-to-finally-find-her-remains/40505608.html |url-status=live }} The same newspaper later alleged that powerful figures within these illegal organisations were protecting Dorrian's killer and his father by threatening potential witnesses into silence.{{Cite news |date=4 March 2020|title=The Lisa Dorrian case files - 15 years on we take a closer look at the UVF-linked murder|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/the-lisa-dorrian-case-files-15-years-on-we-take-a-closer-look-at-the-uvf-linked-murder/39013688.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|language=en|archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250226132748/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/the-lisa-dorrian-case-files-15-years-on-we-take-a-closer-look-at-the-uvf-linked-murder/39013688.html |url-status=live }} A similar article in the Irish Independent also detailed the widespread belief that senior Loyalists were somehow involved in the cover up of Dorrian's murder and had warned people with information not to make statements to the PSNI.{{Cite news |date=28 February 2021|title=Sister asks killer to 'do right thing' in Lisa case|url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/sister-asks-killer-to-do-right-thing-in-lisa-case/40140123.html|newspaper=Irish Independent|language=en}} In October 2020, it was reported that the high-ranking UVF member protecting the killer and his accomplice had been recently removed from his leadership position during an internal "purge" of the paramilitary group, which raised hopes of a breakthrough regarding the location of Dorrian's remains.{{Cite news |date=11 October 2020|title=Hope in Lisa Dorrian murder case after UVF purge|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/hope-in-lisa-dorrian-murder-case-after-uvf-purge/39609901.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|language=en|archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250226132827/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/hope-in-lisa-dorrian-murder-case-after-uvf-purge/39609901.html|url-status=live }}

In June 2021, PSNI Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy categorically denied the involvement of any Loyalist paramilitary groups in the murder of Dorrian, remarking that a review of all the evidence gathered over the previous 16 years ruled out anything to suggest a paramilitary connection to her disappearance.{{Cite news |date=4 June 2021|title=PSNI detective rules out paramilitary role in Lisa Dorrian murder

|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/psni-detective-rules-out-paramilitary-role-in-lisa-dorrian-murder/40503687.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|language=en}}

In April 2019, PSNI Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy announced that the authorities now believed that Lisa Dorrian was murdered by a lone perpetrator inside the caravan at Ballyhalbert, possibly between the times of 10:30pm and 1:15am, on the night she disappeared in 2005. As a previous forensic examination of the caravan had not detected any traces of her blood or any efforts to clean the crime scene of evidence, the most likely explanation was that Dorrian was strangled or suffocated to death, perhaps while fighting off a sexual assault. Dorrian's killer then summoned another person to help dispose of her body. Since this person has never publicly admitted to his role in the cover-up or informed on the culprit for over 20 years, detectives believe they share a close bond with the murderer and is most likely an immediate family member.{{Cite news |date=7 April 2019|title=Lisa Dorrian killed in caravan|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/lisa-dorrian-killed-in-caravan/37989232.html|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|language=en|archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250226082402/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/lisa-dorrian-killed-in-caravan/37989232.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=7 December 2022|title=End 18 years of torment for Lisa Dorrian's family and bring killer to justice, police urge|url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/crime/end-18-years-of-torment-for-lisa-dorrians-family-and-bring-killer-to-justice-police-urge/42201478.html|newspaper=Irish Independent|language=en|archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250226102154/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/crime/end-18-years-of-torment-for-lisa-dorrians-family-and-bring-killer-to-justice-police-urge/42201478.html |url-status=live }}

• List of people who disappeared

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.psni.police.uk/news/appeals-information/long-term-missing-persons/lisa-dorrian PSNI missing person profile for Lisa Dorrian]
• [https://lisadorrian.co.uk/ lisadorrian.co.uk] - website dedicated to the search for Lisa Dorrian
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GOiY4mJZsc last known CCTV footage of Lisa Dorrian (26 February 2005)]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL97dWn3lQ8 Murder in the Badlands - S1:E1 - The Murder of Lisa Dorrian (YouTube)]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorrian, Lisa}}

Category:2000s missing person cases

Category:2005 in Northern Ireland

Category:Crime in Northern Ireland

Category:Disappeared (Northern Ireland)

Category:Missing person cases in Northern Ireland