Human remains discovered in a Co Monaghan bog on Thursday have been removed and taken to Dublin for forensic examination.
The remains are to be taken to the State Pathologist’s office in Dublin. Samples will be sent to a laboratory in England, where a special DNA database contains the genetic codes of all the families of the disappeared.
A Garda spokesman said the remains were removed yesterday afternoon following a search at Aughrim More on the Co Monaghan side of Cullaville, on the border.
The place where the body was found is near the spot where the bodies of Brian McKinney and John McClory were discovered in 1999.
The family of Charlie Armstrong, whose remains are believed to have been discovered, visited the scene yesterday.
Gardai have been searching the site since late June after the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) received an anonymous hand-drawn map.
The third map received in relation to Mr Armstrong’s body, it clarified the location of the remains, leading to their discovery early on Thursday.
The partial remains were found 500 yards from the spot where Mr Armstrong’s family erected a wooden cross bearing a plaque with his name, date of disappearance and the words “May he rest in peace”.
Almost 30 years after his father’s disappearance, Mr Armstrong’s youngest son Terry said the sense of relief felt among family members was “unreal”.
ICLVR commissioner Frank Murray said that, while the remains were likely those of Mr Armstrong, positively identifying them could take four weeks.
Mr Armstrong, a father-of-five vanished on Sunday, August 16th, 1981. His car was discovered in a car park beside the Adelphi Cinema in Dundalk. There was no evidence of a struggle. He was not known to have any political enemies in republican south Armagh.
Many people believe the IRA tried to hijack his car and that he resisted, which resulted in his murder. Others in the Crossmaglen area believe he saw or discovered something which may have compromised him.