Search

06 Sept 2025

Body of mother-of-four recovered from Lough Swilly after major search operation

Gardaí launched a major search and rescue operation after a woman went missing from a caravan park in on Monday

Body of mother-of-four recovered from Donegal lough after major search operation

The body of a woman missing from a Donegal holiday site was recovered on Monday following a joint operation search by gardaí, RNLI, Coast Guard and local residents.

Sally Reilly, a 55-year-old mum-of four from west Belfast who suffered from dementia, was reported missing from Sandybanks Caravan Park in Portsalon at around 2.10am on Monday.

Gardaí in Kerrykeel, assisted by Coast Guard, Mountain Rescue, the Coast Guard Helicopter, the RNLI rescue boat and local people carried out a search in relation to a missing woman.

A body of a woman, was recovered from the water at approximately 9pm on Monday 27th May, 2024.

The body was removed to Letterkenny University Hospital where a post mortem will be conducted in due course and a file prepared for the Coroner’s Court.

A post on social media from daughter Siona Reilly said: "On behalf of Sally Reilly’s family we cannot thank everyone enough for all your support it is amazing everyone coming together to get Sally back to her family.

"Really means a lot from the bottom of our hearts and the support of all the locals. It is amazing a great community. And all the Milford Garda staff”.

The loving daughter also wrote of her devastation in another post on social media.

"Hearts broke into a million pieces,” she wrote.

A garda spokesperson said in a statement that investigations are currently ongoing.

To continue reading this article,
please subscribe and support local journalism!


Subscribing will allow you access to all of our premium content and archived articles.

Subscribe

To continue reading this article for FREE,
please kindly register and/or log in.


Registration is absolutely 100% FREE and will help us personalise your experience on our sites. You can also sign up to our carefully curated newsletter(s) to keep up to date with your latest local news!

Register / Login

Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.

Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.