Gardaí using a cadaver dog and earth-moving machinery are this morning set to resume a search at a house in Drogheda as part of the investigation into the suspected murder of Kyran Durnin, the Co Louth boy who went missing more than two years ago aged six.
The search of the house and garden began yesterday after gardaí arrested a man on suspicion of the murder of Kyran, who was reported missing in August, when he would have been eight years old.
Detectives believe he has been dead since 2022 and that he was murdered, with his remains concealed.
The man’s arrest came less than 24 hours after a woman who had been detained, also on suspicion of murder, was released without charge.
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The woman, who was the first person arrested as part of the murder investigation, was arrested on Tuesday after returning to the Republic from abroad. She is believed to have engaged with detectives while being interviewed rather than availing of her right to make no comment and denied having any knowledge of what happened to Kyran. She was released on Wednesday evening.
The male suspect, who is known to the woman, was arrested yesterday morning in the Drogheda area. Gardaí believe both suspects had contact with Kyran in the period before he was last seen in 2022.
The man can be interviewed for up to 24 hours without charge. When breaks in interviews for rest periods are factored in, he must be released or charged by this evening.
Gardaí said two houses in Drogheda were searched yesterday, with one of the searches concluding quickly. The second property was subjected to a much more extensive search, which is due to continue today. Gardaí said the search of the house, and adjoining garden, would be “intrusive” and would take some time.
The Garda team used a telescopic loader to move a digger into place in the rear garden for excavation in the event the child’s remains were buried there or other evidence was concealed.
“The purpose of these searches is to discover any evidence which might provide us with information as to Kyran’s current whereabouts or what has happened to Kyran,” a Garda statement said.
In late August, Tusla flagged its concern for Kyran’s welfare with the Garda after it was unable to locate him, though he was not in the child and family agency’s care.
A family member reported Kyran and his mother missing the following day.
However, while it was suggested the mother and son had been seen at a house in Drogheda in late August, gardaí have found no evidence Kyran was alive in the period since the last confirmed sighting of him in May-June 2022 at national school in Dundalk.
While gardaí initially began a missing persons inquiry, the investigation into Kyran’s disappearance has since been upgraded to a murder case.
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