A search in Co Louth for evidence in the Kyran Durnin murder investigation was due to enter its third day on Friday after extensive work was carried out on the site over the first 48 hours of the operation.
The Garda team is focused on a house in Drogheda that the missing-assumed-murdered boy often visited. Gardaí have cleared greenery in the back garden of the property as part of their efforts to excavate the area.
Members of the search team used chainsaws to help clear the location before a mini digger was brought in. A drone was also used to capture aerial images to aid gardaí plan the excavation.
Gardaí are looking for any evidence relating to how the boy died and where his remains may be. The operation is the third “intrusive” search at properties since the investigation began last September. Properties in Dundalk and Drogheda were also sealed off and searched in the same manner for several days last year, but nothing of evidential value was found.
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The property now being searched was always one of interest to the investigation team and had been earmarked for some time for the operation that has been under way there since Tuesday morning.
Kyran was last seen in 2022 when he was six years of age. A family member made a missing persons report in August last year, the day after Tusla flagged its concerns for the welfare of the boy after being unable to see him despite several efforts.
Although two suspects were arrested last December and several searches carried out at properties in Co Louth, Kyran’s remains have not been found. The last independent confirmed sighting of him was in June 2022 when he was attending national school in Dundalk.
Gardaí believe he died in the weeks or months after the last confirmed sighting and that his body was concealed to cover up his death. However, the details of where, how or when he died have not been determined.
One of two people arrested in December, Anthony Maguire (36), was found dead at his home in Drogheda the day after he was released without charge.
