Investigators have so far been unable to locate a missing boy in Dublin who has not been seen for several years and is feared dead, the Garda Commissioner has said.
Commissioner Justin Kelly, who took up the role this week, said gardaí have also been unable to identify any information on his current whereabouts or evidence as to whether the boy, who would be seven now, is alive.
Speaking at a press conference in Dublin on Tuesday, he said: “Tragically, investigating gardaí believe the boy is deceased.”
He said investigating gardaí took control of an area of open ground in Donabate for a search expected to last a number of days.
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Mr Kelly also appealed for anyone with information on the missing boy to contact investigating gardaí.
He said a senior investigating officer had been appointed and added: “All resources are being deployed.”
An investigation team is trying to determine if the boy, who was three to four years old when last seen and would now be aged seven, died in suspicious circumstances without the authorities being notified or any concerns being flagged.
The boy is last known to have lived at the Gallery apartments, Donabate, Co Dublin.
The Irish Times understands gardaí have spoken to the parents of the child, one of whom is abroad and one who remains in Ireland. Both are Irish citizens.
Two possibilities are being explored: that the child was unlawfully killed or that he died of natural causes. However, the resources of a homicide inquiry have been committed to the case in the event his death was unlawful.
Garda sources also said that, irrespective of the circumstances, concealing a person’s death and the secret burial of human remains were criminal offences.
On Monday night, investigating gardaí took control of an area of open ground in Donabate which will be the subject of a search in the coming days.
A property in north Co Dublin was sealed off over the weekend.
A person of interest, spoken to by the Garda investigation team, has made claims about a third party in relation to the boy’s apparent death.
It is understood the boy’s disappearance came to light when social welfare payments related to him were being claimed. No proof the boy was alive was provided and there was no record of him having attended school.
The alarm was raised with gardaí last Friday by Tusla, the child and family agency, with a missing persons inquiry launched immediately.
The Garda investigation team has also spoken to a number of other people they believe knew the child. An incident room has been set up at Swords Garda station.
A woman was interviewed about the boy, amid grave concerns for him, and during those interviews she claimed he had been killed by another person.
Though the claims made by the woman during Garda interviews have not been proven, gardaí are taking them seriously.
In a statement, Tusla confirmed it made a referral to An Garda Síochána “in relation to our concerns about the safety and wellbeing of this child”.
“We continue to work closely with the Garda and, in line with normal practice, all relevant information relating to this family has been shared.”
Chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance Tanya Ward has questioned if the Covid pandemic allowed the child missing in north county Dublin to “slip through the net”.
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Ms Ward asked: “Did this child slip through the net because public services did not have the level of contact that they normally would in the ordinary course of events? These are all the questions I think we’re all asking ourselves and that need to be answered.”
The case was “very disturbing” and needed to be independently reviewed to establish what exactly happened to the child, she said.
