A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder by Gardaí as part of their inquiry into the disappearance of Kyran Durnin.
The man is being questioned at a Garda Station in the east of the country and two properties in Drogheda are currently being searched.
Kyran was last seen in 2022 but was only reported as missing in August.
The first arrest
Gardaí fear Kyran, who would now be eight, is dead and on Tuesday, a woman was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Yesterday, she was released without charge and Irish Times Security and Crime Editor Conor Lally predicted Gardaí have a “long and painstaking inquiry” ahead of them.
“I think when this woman was detained on Tuesday, expectations were raised that there was going to be a breakthrough in the case,” he told Newstalk Breakfast.
“Obviously, that hasn’t happened; this woman was abroad, she returned home unexpectedly and when the Gardaí learned she was in Ireland, they detained her and they questioned her.
“She’s the first person to be questioned after being arrested in this case - and that is significant in itself.”
In October, Gardaí carried out a thorough search of wasteland close to the family home in Dundalk - but no evidence of any crime was found.
It means, Mr Lally said, that Gardaí will face “a lot of challenges” as they continue their investigation.
“In the normal course of events, they will have human remains, they will have a crime scene, they will know where and when the victim died,” he said.
“In the case of Kyran Durnin, they don’t have any of those avenues of investigation.
“They’re still trying to establish when Kyran died, how he died and where it happened.
“Until they can ascertain those basic facts, I think this inquiry is facing a really steep uphill struggle.”
Kyran Durnin. Picture supplied by An Garda Síochána.Mr Lally said Gardaí still hope that someone who knows what happened to Kyran will contact them.
“Really, in the absence of that, I fear that this is going to take a long time to solve,” he said.
Drogheda Garda Station can be contacted on 041 987 4200.
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Main image shows a Garda with pictures of Kyran. Picture by: RollingNews.ie
