Gardaí investigating the murders of a missing County Meath couple have launched a major search on lands in north Country Dublin.
William Maughan and Anastasija Varslavane were last seen on Tuesday April 14th 2015 – and the case was upgraded to a murder inquiry the following year.
Their bodies have never been found.
Over the coming days, the Garda Investigation Team, the Meath Divisional Search Team and the Garda Technical Bureau will carry out an excavation and a technical and forensic search of the land.
Gardaí have said some people may now be in a position to provide information they might not have been able to before.
The families of Mr Maughan and Ms Varslavane have been in contact with Gardaí and will be kept updated on the case.
Disappearance
The couple had been living in a caravan in Gormanstown, Co. Meath prior to their disappearance, however, they decided to return to Mr Maughan's family home in Tallaght.
On the morning of Tuesday April 14th, 2015, Mr Maughan went to Balbriggan and Ms Varslavane followed shortly afterwards.
They ran errands together and arranged for Mr Maughan's mother to travel from Tallaght to Gormanstown to collect the couple and their belongings.
At 2.30pm, Mr Maughan spoke to his mother and asked her to drive to Gormanstown.
The couple got a taxi from Balbriggan to Gormanstown shortly after.
Mr Maughan's mother arrived in Gormanstown just before 3pm, but she couldn't locate her son.
She then drove to Stamullen to look for him before returning to Gormanstown where she called her son's mobile number.
The call went straight to voicemail, and she reported the couple as missing.
Murder investigation
Gardaí subsequently launched an extensive search operation, and, following a review in 2016, the case was upgraded to a murder investigation.
Seven people have been arrested in connection with the disappearance of the couple, and investigations are ongoing.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Ashbourne Garda Station on 01 8010600.
They can also contact the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
Feature image: An Garda Síochána
