Gardai said yesterday that the searches for the bodies of Northern people who have disappeared will resume next Tuesday. The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains is expected to confirm the resumption.
Last year gardai searched six sites for seven weeks for the secret graves of eight people abducted and murdered by the IRA. The searches began in May and exactly a month later gardai digging at Colgagh bog in Monaghan found a double grave containing the remains of Mr John McClory (17) and Mr Brian McKinney (22).
However, three weeks later no other remains had been found at the locations in Louth, Meath, Wicklow and a second site in Monaghan. It is understood that plans have been made to resume searching at all locations next Tuesday morning, but a final decision will depend on the weather.
When the searches were suspended last July, the independent commission had appealed for those who might have information to come forward. It has emerged that in relation to the search at Templetown in Louth for the remains of Mrs Jean McConville, the IRA has indicated an area a short distance from where last year's search ended. The fresh information is contained in a questionnaire given to the IRA, which was completed and returned to the two go-betweens, who then passed it to the commission. Gardai then re-examined each site in light of the new information.