Gardaí treating Co Donegal missing person case as ‘probable murder investigation’

Gardaí are treating a missing person case in Co Donegal as a probable murder investigation following the discovery of a blood-spattered car in the Killybegs area.

Two people, a man and a woman, were released without charge on Tuesday night following their arrest on Monday, and a search involving the Irish Coast Guard, the Donegal Mountain Rescue Team and gardaí is ongoing for a missing man.

The search, which began on Monday, is centred around Sliabh Liag, a tourist spot that is the setting for Europe’s highest sea cliffs. Gardaí are trying to contact the missing man’s family but are having difficulty tracking them down.

Gardaí are still trying to piece together the events leading up to the man going missing over the weekend. Their investigations are centred on a car found with blood stains.

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The car first came to Garda attention after being involved in a road crash. At the time it was being driven by male aged in his 30s and contained a woman aged in her early 20s.

The man was briefly detained before being released. It is understood that when the female passenger returned to her accommodation, she said she had witnessed a serious assault earlier in the day around the sea cliffs.

The man’s car was then searched after a warrant was obtained from the District Court, and gardaí found extensive blood stains.

This led to the arrest of both the man and woman. The investigation is officially being treated as a missing person case and potential serious assault, but sources said they expected it to be formally upgraded to a murder investigation.

The man and woman are not related and not believed to be in a relationship.

They had been detained for questioning under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984. The man was detained at Letterkenny Garda station while the woman was held at Ballyshannon Garda station.

The man who is allegedly missing is believed to be from Northern Ireland but was staying with the man and woman in recent days in southwest Donegal.

A house in the Killybegs area has also been sealed off since Monday as part of the investigation. Forensics officers were at the house on Tuesday and carrying out a search of the property.

The man’s period of detention was extended after he complained of not feeling well and was taken to Letterkenny University Hospital to be examined.

The various search parties are due to meet on Wednesday morning to decide what action to take in the coming days.

A key part of the investigation is expected to be forensic evidence taken from the car. Gardaí have forensic samples from the car which include blood.

It is understood the car belongs to one of the two people who have been arrested.

Gardaí are appealing to any person who may have information in relation to the alleged assault incident to contact them.

Any road users who were travelling in the vicinity of Sliabh Liag between Saturday evening and Sunday evening and who may have camera footage (including dash cam) is asked to make this available to investigating gardaí.