Gardaí are exploring the possibility of making arrests or issuing cautions to people they believe are deliberately misleading officers in the Kyran Durnin case.
Officers in charge of the murder investigation are "becoming extremely frustrated" by what they have described as the "stonewall" approach being taken by some witnesses.
They have also received what has been described by sources as "extremely useful CCTV evidence," which shows one of the suspects at a ferry port days before Kyran was officially classified as missing on August 30 this year.
Gardaí believe Kyran, from Dundalk, Co Louth – who would be aged eight today – might have died as long as two years ago.
Both Kyran and his mother Dayla, 24, were reported missing on August 30. She was recently found alive and well, but there has been no sighting of her eldest child, whom gardaí said was last in school towards the end of the 2021/22 school year.
It is understood a school he had been attending in Dundalk was told the family were moving from the area. Investigations into how a child who was missing for two years could go unnoticed by the State are continuing.
After extensive investigations, gardaí upgraded their inquiry to murder.
Gardaí have two main suspects in their sights who they believe were involved in Kyran’s death and the subsequent cover-up. Officers believe two others – who have been classified as people of interest – knew of Kyran’s death and helped to conceal it.
It comes as Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, said it is not making public an internal review into the Kyran case.
In a statement on Thursday afternoon, a Tusla spokesman said: "In accordance with standard practice in sensitive situations, and in the context of the live investigation by An Garda Síochána and the highly sensitive nature of the personal information involved, the review cannot be published at this time."
The report will be passed to the Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman on Friday for review.
Gardaí had been focusing on locations where Kyran was known to have lived.
No meaningful evidence was discovered from searches at his former home at Emer Terrace, in Dundalk, Co Louth.
While this came as a blow to gardaí, they have been exploring several other lines of inquiry.
Dozens of local people are also assisting gardaí. There are several people who gardaí suspect may have been attempting to derail the investigation.
"Gardaí are several weeks into this investigation and to say there have been conflicting stories is an understatement," said a source. "Even those that initially were speaking to us changed their stories on a daily basis.
"After that, everything went quiet. There’s a silence now but thankfully there are those out there who want to do the right thing and are coming forward with any small piece of information they have.
"It’s fairly obvious to gardaí that there are those out there who are failing to disclose information about the potential murder case to officers. That is an arrestable offence. So too is purposely misleading gardaí in the course of their duties," the source said.
"With regards to the CCTV evidence at the ferry, that is very important as it gives us an exact time and date that this person was in a certain place. That’s been one thing that has been very difficult for gardaí in this investigation – establishing exact times, locations and dates of suspects.
"Even smaller details such as the luggage someone was carrying or any other items that they can be seen wearing can help track them down.
"What this also does is it creates lines of communication with police in England. In situations such as these, it’s important for open lines of communication between gardaí and police in other jurisdictions, especially when a person of interest is in that country."
Tusla has launched its own investigation into its handling of the case and confirmed it had been in contact with Kyran’s family before the child was reported missing.
Gardaí are continuing to appeal to anyone with information to come forward. A spokesman said: "An Garda Síochána continue to appeal to anyone who has any information in connection with the disappearance of Kyran to contact investigating gardaí.
"Do not rule out any information that you may have. Please do not assume that the investigation team know the information that you may have. Any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, will be welcomed by the investigation team. This information will be treated in the strictest confidence.
"Contact the Garda Investigation Team at Drogheda Garda Station at 041 987 4200, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or speak with any member of An Garda Síochána."
*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
Comments