GARDAI believe they only have a “slim chance” of prosecuting anyone for the murder of Kyran Durnin — until they find the child’s body.
Senior officers think it will be difficult to charge anyone for the heinous crime unless someone breaks their silence and tells them where he is.
There has been no proof of life from the child in over two years[/caption]
Intense searches of different houses in Drogheda and Dundalk, Co Louth have failed to find the youngster, who is now missing for more than two-and-a-half years.
He was last seen alive at school in June 2022, when he was aged six.
And detectives are satisfied that the youngster – who would be eight if alive – was murdered in the summer of that year.
A top Garda source said: “We have our suspects and know who was involved. However, people are not talking.
“There is a code of silence and no one is prepared to own up to what happened.
“Without discovering Kyran’s body, it would be very hard to persuade the DPP to let us charge anyone for murder or manslaughter and go to trial.
“In saying that, we still haven’t given up hope and maybe the public may yet come forward with information that will lead us to the child’s whereabouts.”
“It is all very frustrating but it is a complicated case and we are just staying patient.”
This latest update comes just weeks after fresh searches were carried out in a bid to locate the young lad.
Investigators seized a number of items, including electronic devices and documents, during the latest house searches in February and a currently examining the evidence in a bid for clues to help with the mystery.
The evidence was gathered during a trawl of a property in Drogheda, Co Louth.
A mini digger was also brought in to excavate the back garden.
It was the fourth property to be searched since Gardai launched a murder inquiry last year.
Kyran was reported missing along with his mother, Dayla, last August.
‘NO PROOF OF LIFE’
But after Gardai established his mother had been living in the UK, they upgraded the case to a murder inquiry after establishing there was “no proof of life” of Kyran.
Detectives later identified how the last public sighting of the child was in June 2022 when he was at school.
Gardai are seeking to establish if Kyran had been staying at the pad at the time he was first reported missing, or at another property.
Commenting on the case last month, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan urged the public not to focus on rumours about the case.
‘INVALUABLE TASK’
The Fianna Fail TD said: “The Gardai perform an absolutely invaluable task when it comes to investigating serious offences.
“There is an investigation going on into that case at present and the Gardai need to be given an opportunity in respect of carrying out that investigation.
“Let the Gardai do their job and when there is any conclusion to the investigation or a file sent to the DPP or issues like that we will be aware of that.”
The Minister added: “I am concerned that it took so long to find out about the child being missing in the first instance, but in fairness when it comes to An Garda Siochana they are doing their best to try deal with this criminal investigation.”
LINES OF INQUIRY
Gardai have followed hundreds of lines of inquiry to date.
They have also taken dozens of statements and examined hours of CCTV footage as they attempt to unravel the mystery.
They also arrested a woman and Drogheda man, Anthony Maguire, 36, in connection with Kyran’s disappearance but no one has been charged so far.
Maguire, who was a “key person of interest”, took his own life after he was released from custody.
