The digging at all sites for the disappeared has been suspended after the failure to find remains of six IRA victims in recent weeks and the lack of fresh information.
The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains decided to suspend the excavations after consulting the victims' relatives. A Garda spokesman stressed the digging had been suspended rather than cancelled. It is understood excavations would resume if new information was made available. The commission has appealed to those who may have information to come forward.
Since the search started at the end of May for nine bodies, three have been found. The body of Eamonn Molloy was discovered in a coffin above ground at Faughart graveyard in Dundalk, Co Louth. Exactly a month later on June 29th, gardai uncovered a double grave containing the bodies believed to be of John McClory (17) and Brian McKinney (22) in Colgagh, Iniskeen, Co Monaghan.
The discovery, following fresh information given to gardai the previous weekend, gave new hope to the other families. Excavations continued at other sites and digging resumed at Ballynultagh, near Lacken, Co Wicklow, where the search had been suspended.
At the Wicklow site, gardai have been searching for the body of Danny McIlhone. Another, in the Oristown bog near Kells, Co Meath, was indicated by the IRA as the location of the body of Brendan Megraw.
In Carlingford, Co Louth, digging was carried out at Temple town beach for Jean McConville's body. The other sites were in Coghalstown, Co Meath, and two in Co Monaghan where gardai searched for the bodies of Kevin McKee, Seamus Wright and Columba McVeigh.
At the site at Templetown beach, Ms McConville's son-in-law, Mr Seamus McKendry said: "We expected the search would be suspended but it does not make it any easier to accept."
His wife Helen, her sister Agnes and brother Jim were at Temple town car park yesterday as contractors began to fill in the massive hole which had been dug over the last seven weeks.
After weeks of fruitless excavations at the car park, the family said they were prepared to vacate the site to allow the IRA to visit it in an effort to pinpoint the exact location where Ms McConville is buried. Ms McConville, a widow, was abducted and murdered in December 1972, leaving 10 children who were separated and put into care.
"We knew one day it would come to this, but that it would go on for a few more months. Maybe now they [the IRA] will come here. I'm afraid that in a month's time it will all go back to the way it was, that the car park will go back . . . what more can we do? Can we believe another word from the IRA? The only decent thing they can do is come here and give the right spot and bring this to an end. There is a law to protect them but nothing to protect the innocent and the families of those who died," said Ms McKendry.