Gardaí searching in north Dublin for the remains of a boy who is missing assumed dead have moved three mechanical diggers on to lands outside Donabate. A very significant amount of excavation has taken place, with deep trenches dug in the main area of focus.
A woman who has been speaking to investigating gardaí has twice visited the site, off Portrane Road, to pinpoint the location where she claims the child’s remains were buried about four years ago when he was a three-year-old.
While gardaí were very hopeful that the first location on the land identified by the woman last Monday week would lead to the discovery of the child’s body, that was not the case. Gardaí first conducted a fingertip search before prodding the soil with sticks and bringing in a cadaver dog, which did not respond.
Since then, the woman, who knew the child, has again accompanied gardaí to the site in a bid to narrow down the focus of the search, though that has also failed to bring about any breakthrough. The latest phase of the operation on the land has involved a bigger search team, with a mini-digger and a much larger mechanical digger operating in wet conditions on Wednesday.
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Another mechanical digger has also been brought into position adjacent to the land, with gazebos erected to offer shelter and privacy for the search team. The site, which is on marshy land that includes a pond, has been sealed off with barriers, on which black canvas has been fixed to afford privacy to the searchers as they carry out their work.
Gardaí have also put in place other facilities such as portaloos and mobile lighting systems, with gardaí in cars parked at three entrances to the site to control access.
The mechanical diggers have disturbed much larger quantities of earth, over a wider area, than was the case during the first week of the operation last week. However, it is understood no remains have been found in what is now a 10-day operation.
Gardaí believe the boy died about four years ago and having commenced a criminal investigation last Friday week, when the alarm was first raised, the investigation has been trying to establish precisely when the boy was last seen alive.
Investigating gardaí, including specialist interviewers, have spoken to the boy’s parents and others. And on the basis of those interviews, they sealed off the plot of land just outside Donabate last Monday week. The woman who has accompanied gardaí to the site claims to have specific information about the boy’s death and his burial ground.
When the child was born he was initially given up for adoption and was in foster care for about 18 months. However, his parents then had a change of heart and the child was returned to them. Tusla, the child and family agency, oversaw the case for all of those developments, but ceased its involvement with the child and his family in 2020.
Gardaí suspect the child died, or was killed, around 2021 and that his remains were secretly buried to conceal his death. They are trying to determine if the child died of natural causes or if foul play was a factor.
If the child’s remains were found, a pathologist could perform a postmortem, which may determine the cause of death and also the period when the child died. The area sealed off for searching has changed in nature since 2021, with the body of water a relatively new feature and much heavier vegetation now on the site.
The alarm was first raised when checks were made on a social welfare payment being made related to the child. When those checks were made, officials became concerned and took those concerns to Tusla, who then contacted gardaí.
