Search extended as dig fails to turn up evidence

Gardai digging in search of a body on a mountainside near Lacken in Co Wicklow were reviewing their search last night following a second day which failed to turn up any evidence.

The gardai, who initially expected the dig would last just a few hours, used a mechanical digger all day yesterday and for much of Sunday, in an attempt to locate the body, believed to be that of Mr Danny McIlhone, thought to have been murdered by the IRA more than 20 years ago.

However, digging in the 10 ft sq area specified by a member of the commission set up to oversee the recovery of the bodies of IRA victims has proved fruitless.

On Sunday, the gardai extended the area to 30 metres square and at lunch time yesterday they extended it again to almost 40 metres around the original spot.

Gardai say the difficulty they face is that they simply don't know how reliable their information is.

It is understood that it was relayed through Father Alex Reid and a fellow Redemptorist priest to a member of the commission on Friday night.

However, given the open, upland nature of the location, gardai believe it would be particularly difficult to pinpoint the exact spot after a time lapse of more than 20 years.

The area where the body is said to be located is two-and-a-half miles from the nearest road and almost one mile from a forest track.

Access to the area, known locally as Condron's Valley, is through a derelict farm which was up until recent years occupied by two brothers who are now dead.

After the first day of their search gardai left two men on guard overnight before returning to dig at 7 a.m. yesterday. The weather was milder, but this led to the gardai, and waiting media, being frustrated by endless swarms of midges.

Yesterday evening Insp Simon O'Connor said the gardai, who are members of the Carlow/Kildare division, would keep digging until nightfall, "then we will have to consider what is to be done next".

The options are open to the gardai, including returning to the commission to seek more precise directions, but yesterday it was thought unlikely that anyone with specific knowledge of where the body is buried would be willing to go to help.

Another option is to keep digging, but the location is so vast that gardai admit it would impossible to comb the whole terrain.

A third possibility is to deploy radar-style units which can detect where earth has been disturbed. Gardai already have this Frenchmade technology and it is being used in Carlingford in the search for the body of Mrs Jean McConville, also murdered by the IRA.

As darkness was falling last night, the Garda press office indicated the search would resume this morning, pending a further review at lunchtime.