During an ongoing investigation into the presumed murder of eight-year-old Kyran Durnin, Gardaí, the Irish police, are preparing to search his former family home in Dundalk, County Louth. Kyran was reported missing from his current home in Drogheda back in August.
Last week, Gardaí transitioned the case to a murder investigation after failing to locate Kyran or obtain any credible information regarding his whereabouts. Authorities have stated that they believe he is “missing and presumed dead,” with reports suggesting he may have been killed over two years ago.
On Monday, police took control of a private residence in Dundalk and plan to conduct searches of the house, garden, and surrounding grounds. At a press conference held outside Dundalk Garda Station, Chief Superintendent Alan McGovern addressed the media, flanked by two images of the missing boy. He confirmed that the search area is a house located on Emer Terrace, which is known to have been the Durnin family home until May 2024.
“We will be conducting forensic and technical examinations of both the house and the surrounding area,” Chief Supt McGovern explained. He also stressed that the current tenants of the property play no role in Kyran’s disappearance.
McGovern shared that Kyran was a student at a local school in Dundalk until the end of the 2021/22 academic year. Despite extensive inquiries, the Gardaí have so far been unable to locate Kyran or find evidence that he is still alive.
The police noted that the Irish child welfare organization Tusla is fully engaged in the investigation, and there is hope that the upcoming searches may yield clues about Kyran’s current whereabouts or clarify what happened to him.
In early September, Gardaí issued a public appeal for information regarding both Kyran and his 24-year-old mother, Dayla Durnin, after the two were reported missing. At that time, authorities mentioned that they had last been seen a week prior. The missing persons report for Kyran was filed at Drogheda Garda Station on August 30. Dayla Durnin has since been located, leading to the cancellation of her missing person appeal; however, there has been no sign of Kyran.
