The mother of missing woman Fiona Pender has died.

Josephine Pender became a national figure in the campaign to find the remains of her daughter.

Fiona and her unborn child disappeared in 1996 from Tullamore, Co Offaly.

She was last seen at her flat at Church Street, Tullamore at 6.00am on Friday August 23rd of that year.

At that time she was seven months pregnant, and had spent the previous day shopping for baby clothes with her mother.

In a statement, Monsignor Sean Heaney of Tullamore Parish says: "The community of Tullamore is greatly saddened by the death of Josephine Pender."

"Her determination and single mindedness has been an inspiration to many people who are similarly tortured by the unsolved mystery of the disappearance of a loved family member.

"There is great sadness that Josephine did not live to see closure of the mystery of Fiona's disappearance."

Last month marked 21 years since Fiona's disappearance.