A specialist sniffer dog will be on site in Co Meath on Monday where bogland is being searched for the remains of Joe Lynskey, one of the Disappeared. Mr Lynskey, a former Cistercian monk, went missing from west Belfast in August 1972. Almost 40 years later, the IRA admitted it had kidnapped, killed and secretly buried him.
Lead investigator Geoff Knupfer said: “We will use every means at our disposal to try to narrow the search area until hopefully we get to a point where we can bring in the forensic archaeologists to go beneath the surface. The cadaver dog is one of the resources we can use.”
The dog has been specially trained to detect signs of human remains and will work alongside geophysicists using ground-penetrating radar to identify anomalies which could indicate a grave site.
Preparatory work at the site in Coghalstown, Co Meath, was started last month after the International Commission for the Location of Victims Remains said it had received fresh information. The searches are being carried out close to Oristown Bog where the remains of Brendan Megraw (23) were recovered in October.
“As with of all of the Disappeared, we are facing a huge task,” Mr Knupfer added, “in this case going back over 40 years and dealing with a search area of around six hectares [15 acres] . . .
“We have to remember that it took four searches over nearly 15 years before we found Brendan Megraw. We are just at the beginning of the process for Joe Lynskey, but as the recovery of Brendan’s remains at the beginning of October shows, where we have accurate information we will find the Disappeared.”
Mr Lynskey was one of 17 people abducted, killed and buried by republicans. That list includes Gareth O’Connor who was murdered in 2003.
His body was recovered on June 11th, 2005, at Newry canal, Co Down. The commission has investigated 16 of the Disappeared. To date the remains of 10 people have been recovered.– (PA)