Kyran Durnin: Gardai search Drogheda garden for suspected burial site using digger and cadaver dog
by Megan Martin · RSVP LiveGardai are searching for the suspected burial site of missing child Kyran Durnin in the back garden of a house in Drogheda. Officers began what they called an "intrusive" search of the house and back garden area early on Thursday morning.
A teleporter was used to lift a mini digger over a wall and into the garden attached to the property in Drogheda, Co Louth, the Irish Mirror reports.
A cadaver dog was also seen being brought into the property at around 10am. It was later seen coming in and out of the property - which gardai subsequently placed tape around after 4pm.
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It is feared that young Kyran may have been buried in the back garden of the home, where he could have lay dead for over two years.
However sources say gardai do not yet have conclusive evidence of the exact location of where the body may be - and say the search may take days.
It is also hoped that the recent arrests may pressure anyone who may know what happened to come forward. The massive search effort, which it is hoped will finally bring answers in the horrific unsolved case, began after a woman known to the child was arrested and released without charge late on Wednesday afternoon.
Following the woman's arrest, the man, who is also known to her, was arrested shortly after 8:30am and brought into a Garda station for questioning on suspicion of the murder of Kyran (8).
It is feared that Kyran has in fact been missing and dead for two years however - but efforts to determine how and when he went missing are still continuing.
Sources say the questioning of the woman (24) on Wednesday has no direct bearing or connection to the search that was carried out on Thursday. However officers are examining what she told them after they released her without charge on Wednesday afternoon.
The search came after officers also searched another property in the Drogheda area which ended early on Thursday. In a statement gardai said the man arrested on suspicion of murder was continuing to be detained under section 4 Criminal Justice Act 1984 at a Garda Station in the east of the country.
He can be quizzed for up to 24 hours - and sources say it is likely officers will keep him in custody well into Friday - unless a major development occurs.
Gardai said the search was being carried out by the Divisional Search team, supported by the Garda National Technical Bureau, Divisional Scene of Crime and Forensic Science Ireland.
"The search is also being supported by a specialist cadaver dog. The purpose of these searches are to discover any evidence which might provide us with information as to Kyrans' current whereabouts or what has happened to Kyran," Gardai said.
An Garda Síochána continues to appeal to any person with any information, on the disappearance and murder of Kyran Durnin, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to contact the Garda Investigation Team at Drogheda Garda Station on 041 987 4200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or speak with any member of An Garda Síochána."
The murder probe was first launched in October. It is suspected that the boy, who was reported missing in August, might have died in 2022 when he was six.
Tusla, the Child and Family Agency said that in August it alerted gardaí to a significant concern about Kyran and that while he was not in its care, it had engaged with him and his family.
Tusla subsequently conducted an internal review into its interactions with Kyran and his family. A grandmother of Kyran Durnin, reportedly was recorded on tape saying she last saw the youngster alive on Wednesday, August 28.
Rhonda Tyson said he stayed in her house in Drogheda, Co Louth, with his mother, her daughter Dayla and had been sleeping on the couch.
But the next morning when she woke up, both mother and the child were gone. Dayla left a note for her on the table saying she needed to get away for a few days.
Her account of seeing Kyran recently alive is totally at odds with the view of Irish police that he has been dead for the last two years.
The recorded interview was obtained by the investigative BBC Spotlight team for their programme on the case The Lost Boy which was screened on Tuesday.