Gardaí investigating the disappearance of Kyran Durnin, the Co Louth boy suspected of having been murdered, are following up on a “huge volume” of calls from the public.
As The Irish Times reports, some of the calls have included claimed sightings of the boy, which detectives hope will aid them to establish when he was last seen alive, and whether that was over two years ago as suspected.
As a search and excavation operation at the former Durnin family home in Dundalk concluded on Thursday evening, with no major discoveries made, gardaí were expected to search another property connected to the family in Drogheda.
However, detectives appeared to be no closer to making arrests, with sources saying it would be a “strategic error” to arrest any persons of interest at this point in the investigation.
They added arrests could be made only when evidence gathered by the Garda provided the grounds for such a move.
Gardaí suspect that Kyran may have died in 2022 when he was aged six.
Last week, they opened a murder investigation months after Kyran was reported missing along with his mother.
The youngster’s mother has been located, but investigators say the whereabouts of Kyran remain unknown and he is now presumed dead.
It comes as the Garda Commissioner described the case as “extraordinary”, saying he has never seen one like it in his 40-year career.
Drew Harris said there is a “particular element” in the disappearance of the schoolboy that is “difficult to comprehend”.
He said that investigators are pursuing the case with “full vigour and resources”.
Speaking to reporters in Dublin, Mr Harris said: “It is an extraordinary incident.
“I’ve over 40 years now in the police, and I have not seen really the like.
“I cannot think of a similar set of circumstances, and in that way there’s a particular element to this which is difficult to comprehend.
“But we have our work to do.
“This is a murder investigation and you can be assured that we are pursuing it with full vigour and resources.”
Mr Harris said he was first made aware of Kyran’s case in early September.
“From the very beginning of this investigation, from August 30, it commenced as a missing persons investigation and then very quickly garda members, their suspicions were aroused and I was briefed on this in early September and visited the investigation teams,” he said.
“We have obviously been very concerned to understand what has happened to Kyran and where this investigation is going to take us.
“I don’t want to comment on what our next steps might be in terms of searches and what other investigative steps we want to take.
“But you can be assured it is fully resourced and it continues at pace.
“We have received a lot of information from the public, certainly since last week, with important information.
“We encourage anyone who might know anything to come forward.
“What we have worked at is to try and identify proof of life since the last actual sighting in 2022, so I cannot comment specifically on whether Kyran reached his seventh or eighth birthday.”
Gardaí have continued to appeal for information into the child’s disappearance.
“Do not rule out any information that you may have,” they said in a statement.
“Please do not assume that the investigation team know the information that you may have.
“Any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, will be welcomed by the investigation team.
“This information will be treated in the strictest confidence.”
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said the country is devastated over a young boy possibly missing for two years, and not known to anyone, including authorities.
“The death of any child is devastating, particularly where children are vulnerable and where a child is engaged with state agencies or is in our state services, and they are particularly vulnerable. There is an onus to do everything we can to protect them,” the Fine Gael minister said.
“If there was a failure, we have to understand what has occurred here and how we make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“If people need to be held accountable, that happens too."
