THE BODY of a teenage schoolboy was taken from a lake in Co Monaghan yesterday after he had gone missing during a camping outing organised by friends for the mid-term break.
Up to 80 people joined a search after gardaí in Monaghan appealed for public help to trace Michael Hughes (16), from Killygoan, a pupil at St Macartan’s College in Monaghan town.
He had been missing since Wednesday night after he joined a camping outing with a group of 30 friends in Rossmore Forest Park on the outskirts of the town. The outing was described as a “social event”.
Yesterday morning, Garda, family, friends, and Civil Defence members took part in a search of the vast woodland. The search covered an area that has many lakes and streams and is densely forested in parts.
Michael had made it clear to his friends, according to his sister, that he did not intend to stay out for the night.
He had said that he would be leaving his friends at about 11pm to go the short distance to his home in Killygoan. However, he never got home and his family started a search for him on Thursday morning.
His sister Maggie did find her brother’s school locker key at an entrance gate, but no other trace of Michael.
The dead teenager was described as “a quiet guy” who played football for Clontibret GAA club. His family and friends said his disappearance was “totally out of character”.
The teenager’s body was found after the Garda sub-aqua team had joined in the search at Castle Lake in Rossmore Forest Park.
His siater had appealed to the public for help in the search. “Michael is a very loving and caring teenager. This has never happened before. If anybody knows anything, if they remember seeing anything, no matter how small, if it can help at all, please come forward.”