Case Details

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This person was missing Missing Since 12/16/2001

Missing Since:

Missing Since 12/16/2001

Missing From:

Missing From Oakland, California

Classification:

Classification Endangered Missing

Gender:

Female

Race:

Race White

Date of Birth:

Date of Birth 01/01/1946 (79)

Age:

Age 55 years old

Height and Weight:

Height and Weight 5’3, 150 pounds

Clothing/Jewelry Description:

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Ornaith is a native of Ireland. She broke both of her legs in a 1992 car accident and spent two years in a wheelchair and on crutches; the healed injuries may appear in an X-ray. She has undergone extensive surgery on her left knee.

Details of Disappearance:

In 2001, Ornaith and Kieran Murphy, a wealthy Oakland couple going through a divorce, vanished. They’d lived in Oakland, but had previously lived in Ireland. Ornaith, a skilled sailor who wrote for sailing magazines, owned a boat, the *Sola III*.

Kieran disappeared first. The next day, Ornaith was last seen. Security footage showed her boat leaving the Oakland Marina on December 15th. The boat, only stocked for a week and lacking proper safety gear, was unusually unprepared for a long trip. Witnesses heard loud bangs near the boat the night Kieran disappeared, possibly gunshots, but this is unconfirmed.

The next day, December 16th, Ornaith called her niece, saying she was in a Berkeley marina, but she never showed up for breakfast and hasn’t been seen since. The *Sola III* is also missing.

The Murphys were involved in a lawsuit after a fire in one of their buildings injured a child. They were a successful couple, but their marriage ended after Kieran’s infidelity. While Ornaith was an experienced sailor (reportedly the first person from San Francisco to solo sail around Cape Horn), Kieran was not. He was supposed to go to Mexico shortly after his disappearance. Their sons said their parents would never leave without warning.

Possible explanations include them fleeing together on the *Sola III*, or a possible murder-suicide (with no evidence beyond the mysterious bangs heard near the boat). The Coast Guard searched, but found nothing. No credit card or bank activity has been detected since their disappearance. The case remains a mystery.

Agency:

San Francisco Police Department

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