A near two-week search for the remains of Annie McCarrick, at a west Dublin house she once stayed in, has concluded with nothing of evidential value being found.
Garda sources said while new intelligence had prompted the search, it was speculative and investigators did not know if it would lead to a breakthrough in the investigation into her disappearance in March 1993.
However, as the property was linked to the chief suspect in the case, gardaí believed the new information was worth acting on. Significant excavation was done at the house in Clondalkin, including under an extension built in the last 15 years.
The fact neither Ms Carrick’s remains, nor any other evidence, were discovered there is a blow to the investigation team, which has carried out significant work to try to solve the case since it was upgraded from a missing persons inquiry to a murder investigation two years ago.
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The chief suspect, a businessman in his 60s who knew Ms McCarrick, a 26-year-old from New York, was arrested earlier this month as the search of the property began. He denied any wrongdoing and was released without charged the following day after being questioned for 24 hours.
The Irish Times called to his home, a large property in a secluded location in the east of country, after his release but the house appeared to be empty at the time.
Garda headquarters on Tuesday confirmed the search at the property in Clondalkin had just concluded and that gardaí would “remain on site in order to return the site” to the current residents, who were not linked to the case.
It also said while the results of the search were not being released for “operational reasons”, Ms McCarrick’s family in the US had been informed of the developments.
“Gardaí continue to appeal to any person who may have previously come forward who felt they could not provide Gardaí with all the information they had in relation to this matter, to contact the investigation team again,” the Garda added. “With the passage of time they may now be in a position to speak further with the investigation team.”
The chief suspect was spoken to as part of the investigation when Ms McCarrick disappeared, but no arrests were made at that time and the missing woman’s remains have never been found. However, Ms McCarrick had told some US-based friends in the period before she disappeared that she felt harassed by the man and that he had struck her during an argument.
The investigation has become more focused on him, and a man close to him, in recent years and his detention last week represented the first ever arrest in the case.
Gardaí believe Ms McCarrick was killed on the day her flat mates last saw her alive – March 26th, 1993. They suspect her remains were disposed of, to conceal the crime, by the time she was reported missing two days later.
Ms McCarrick had studied in Ireland from the late 1980s but went back to the US for two years. She returned to live in Ireland in January 1993 after falling in love with the country during a visit when she was a teenager.
