Search to resume as fourth body part found in Co Wicklow

Human remains found at three separate locations in the Wicklow Mountains belong to a white male in his mid to late 20s, it has been confirmed.

The victim has still not being identified and investigators are keeping an open mind. One line of inquiry is that the man was a victim of the ongoing gangland feud in Dublin’s inner city.

A cause of death has not been determined. "We are in no doubt that this person came to their death by violent means, by sinister means," Superintendent Pat Ward of Bray Garda Station said on Monday.

The Garda Water Unit was searching at the Glenmacnass Waterfall for much of Monday where a second part of a human torso was found late on Sunday by members of the public. A third body part was found on Monday evening near the waterfall. Searches are due to resume on Tuesday. A fourth body part was found by members of the Defence Forces at Lough Brea Lower on Military Road.

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Another part of the torso was found in a bush on Saturday evening by two hillwalkers near Glencree, about 20km from the waterfall.

Difficult search

More than 100 gardaí and soldiers were on Monday searching along a 30km route in the Wicklow Mountains National Park between the Featherbeds and Laragh. The search operation proved difficult due to the isolation of the location and the presence of heavy forest and woodlands.

The site where the torso was found is located about 1km from the Glencree Peace and Reconciliation Centre on the Dublin side. The area is popular with cyclists and hillwalkers and gardaí are appealing for witnesses who may have seen something suspicious in the last few weeks.

The Garda Technical Bureau and Deputy State Pathologist Michael Curtis examined the scene on Sunday before the remains were taken to the Mater hospital in Dublin to be X-rayed.

They were then taken to the pathology department in Whitehall for further examination.

Dr Curtis has completed a postmortem on the torso which is understood to belong to a white male aged 25-30 who was murdered and dismembered in recent weeks.

Missing persons

In addition to invesigating the potential gangland link, detectives are examining the missing persons database and are appealing for anyone who is concerned about the whereabouts of their family members to come forward.

“We’re checking our missing person’s database but have not yet found a match,” Supt Ward said. “If there is anybody out there who has loved ones missing, we’d like to hear from them, please report it to the gardaí,” Supt Ward said.

The remains are not being linked to any of the six women who disappeared in the Leinster area in the 1990s. They are also not believed to be those of convicted rapist James Nolan, parts of whose body have been found in several locations since his disappearance in 2011.

“The postmortem indicates the person died possibly in the last week or a maybe little while before that. So it’s not one of the historic cases, as they are known, in relation to people missing the Wicklow Mountains,” Supt Ward said.

The superintendent appealed to anyone with information or who spotted people or vehicles acting suspiciously in the area to come forward.

"In particular we're appealing to people who use the area for recreational purposes such as walkers, cyclists, motorcyclists, hillwalkers. And also people who work up with the National Parks and Wildlife Services and Coillte and people who use the area for hunting," Supt Ward said.

Incriminating evidence

Gardaí believe that the suspect may return to the area in the near future to remove incriminating evidence now that part of the body has been found.

Two platoons of the Defence Forces, comprising 60 soldiers, have joined detectives and members of the Wicklow divisional search team in the operation. The Garda Technical Bureau is also examining the two crime scenes.

Anyone with information or who has spotted any unusual behaviour in the area is asked to contact Bray Garda station on (01) 666 5300, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800666111 or any Garda station.