Gardaí have not ruled out foul play as the search for missing Kerry farmer Michael Gaines continues. 

Mr Gaines was last seen in Kenmare on March 20th and extensive searches are now being carried out on land close to his farm. 

On The Pat Kenny Show, Irish Independent journalist Ralph Riegel said Gardaí are still unsure what might have happened to Mr Gaines. 

“Certainly, everything we’ve heard is that there are no indications at the scene as yet,” he said. 

“Gardaí, because of the nature of the investigation and because of the fact that they’re still looking for specific forensic details or specific clues, they’re not ruling anything in [but] they’re not ruling anything out.

“But it is interesting to note that the Garda operation has all the resources as if this was a murder probe. 

“It’s not a murder probe, it’s the search for a missing person but it has all of the resources as if it was.” 

Search

Extensive searches around Mr Gaines’ farm have already been carried out. 

However, Mr Riegel described the land as “rough, mountainous terrain” and added that it has proved difficult to survey. 

“There’s streams, there’s bogland,” he said. 

“So, the search really has been quite enormous. 

“At the moment, there’s 50 members of the Defence Forces taking part - they’re drawn from the 12th Infantry Battalion in Limerick and the 3rd Infantry Battalion in Kilkenny. 

“They’re coordinating with Gardaí; you have civil defence, you have volunteers, you have expert divers, Garda divers. 

“Lakes have been examined; there’s various streams on the farm, they have been examined.”

Some parts of the land are so difficult to access that Gardaí have deployed drones to survey them. 

Clues

A number of items on the farmyard have been recovered during the search and Mr Riegel said “nothing’s been left for chance”. 

“They’re being examined by Gardaí and the latest discovery is that there was a small key found in quite a remote location on the land by the farm,” he said. 

“There was a couple of items found; they’re being examined. 

“Again, it’s unclear whether they’re relevant to the search for Mr Gaines or not; it appears those items have been there for quite a significant period of time.” 

Anyone with any information about Mr Gaines’ disappearance has been asked to contact Killarney Garda Station. 

Main image: Michael Gaines. Image: Garda Press Office.