Irish police have initiated a murder investigation after an 8-year-old named Kyran Durnin was reported missing in August 2024 alongside her mother in County Louth, Ireland. While her mother was located, they were unable to find Kyran. Police now believe that Kyran's disappearance might have happened back in 2022 when he was presumably murdered.
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Initially, police were told that Kyran and his mother were both seen days before when they were reported missing. However, after finding the mother, they set up an incident room and launched a forensic search of Kyran's former home and its adjacent grounds to find his body. There is no connection between Kyran's disappearance and the current residents of his former home.
"Despite extensive enquiries, An Garda Síochána (Irish police) have been unable to either locate Kyran, identify any information on his current whereabouts or any evidence that he is currently alive," one officer said, reported by The Guardian. "Following inquiries to date investigating Gardaí now believe that Kyran is missing, presumed dead."
It is believed that Kyran was presumably murdered in 2022. He was a pupil in a local high school up to the 2021/2022 primary school year.
A National Search
Chief Superintendent Alan McGovern weighed in on the investigation. "An Garda Síochána's sole focus and primary concern, and that of the investigation team, is Kyran," said Ch Supt McGovern. "We want to discover where Kyran is. We want to discover what has happened to Kyran."
Such are the efforts to find Kyran that authorities began digging in a wasteland behind the property mentioned before. Police are also scouring social media that may lead to any clues of Kyran's last possible whereabouts.
"Unfortunately the view is that he is most likely dead and has passed away, but we need to understand what's happened," said Helen McEntee, Ireland's justice minister."We need to know have there been failures here, where have those failures been taking place, but also who is responsible for them,"
Kyran's disappearance and possible murder have shaken Ireland to its core. Many are seeking justice and hope that authorities can find Kyran soon. Ireland's Taoiseach - the prime minister - Simon Harris, was heartbroken after learning about the case.
"It's utterly horrifying for any of us as a human being, for any of us as a parent to think that a child can effectively disappear, go unnoticed and not be noticed that they're not there is utterly heartbreaking. and clearly something went extraordinarily wrong here," said Harris. "This child was failed and was failed badly."
