Families of missing people cautioned against false hope over remains

THE FAMILIES of several people who are missing and presumed murdered have been contacted following the discovery of skeletal remains in the Dublin mountains.

The remains were discovered by two hillwalkers on Sunday morning at Slieve na mBan Óg mountain, about 14km from Tallaght.

It seems the remains, which were scattered over a wide area, were disturbed by an uprooted tree, which may have been unearthed by recent high winds.

Immediately after the discovery gardaí contacted the families of people who have gone missing in recent years, but cautioned them against false hope that their relatives might be found.

Among those who visited the scene yesterday was the family of James Kenny McDonagh, a 29-year-old man from Bluebell in Dublin, who went missing in November 2010.

His car was found abandoned at Peamont Hospital in Newcastle, Co Dublin, shortly afterwards and there has been no trace of him despite an extensive search.

Gardaí are working on the assumption that he was abducted and killed by a west Dublin gang.

An early examination of the body found on Sunday determined that the remains had been there for up to about two years and were not those of several women who went missing in the 1990s in the eastern region.

No clothes, wallet or any other item that could have identified the victim were found.

The scene was sealed off yesterday as a detailed search was made of the area.

The sex of the person whose remains were found has not been identified, though gardaí believe it is probably a male.

The Garda Síochána says it is confident the remains of the body will be identified quickly if dental records match those of people who have gone missing in recent years.

Otherwise, it may be 10 days before a match is found using DNA.

The body was taken to the City Morgue in Marino, Dublin, for further examination. Both the State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy and the Garda Technical Bureau are involved in the investigation.

The work of forensic anthropologist Dr Laureen Buckley, who visited the scene yesterday, may be critical in discovering the identity of the body.

The Dublin mountains have been used on many occasions in the past to bury dead bodies. In January 2010 the remains of Kenneth Fetherston were found at the foothills of the mountains at Military Road, Rathfarnham.

Mr Fetherston went missing in September 2009 from Tallaght and was last seen in Knocklyon. No one has been charged with his death and a murder investigation is ongoing.