United Kingdom KYRAN DURNIN: Missing from Louth, Ireland - August 2024 - Age 8 - Possibly missing 2+ years

Case of missing boy, 8, becomes murder probe as he could have 'died months ago'

Police initially launched a missing persons inquiry on August 30 after eight-year-old Kyran Durnin disappeared with his mum Dayla - now he is feared dead and a murder investigation has been launched

www.mirror.co.uk

A missing eight-year-old is presumed dead after six weeks of searching that have revealed no trace of the youngster or his mum.

Kyran Durnin and his mother Dayla went missing overnight on August 28 from the family's home in County Louth, Ireland, after the 24-year-old left a note saying she "needed to get away for a few days". Police launched search efforts two days later, and despite "extensive enquiries" have not found any clues to their whereabouts well over a month later.

Garda have now issued an update saying Kyran is now missing presumed dead, having been unable to identify evidence suggesting he is currently alive. An Garda Siochana said in a statement today: “Despite extensive inquiries carried out by gardai to date, An Garda Siochana have been unable to either locate Kyran, identify any information on his current whereabouts or any evidence that he is currently alive.

“Following inquiries to date, investigating Gardai now believe that Kyran is missing presumed dead. A murder investigation has been commenced.”

No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing, with the probe being led by a senior investigation officer based out of an incident room established at Drogheda Garda Station. Tusla, Ireland’s Child and Family Agency, is working closely with and fully co-operating with the Garda investigation.


When the missing person report was filed at the end of August it included a photo of Kyran when he was around six years old. And now the police believe Kyran, from Drogheda, in Co Louth, may have have been dead for more than two years, reports RTE.

It is also expected that Tusla, Ireland’s child and family agency, may also help in putting together what has happened to Kyran with police reportedly believing now that he may have died more than two years ago. As of now though police do not know how, if Kyran did die, or where his body in that case is located.

MEDIA: Missing 8 yr old Irish boy KYRAN DURNIN may have died TWO YEARS before anyone knew he was missing! How can that happen?

 

[Mel70]

Here's a bit of what I saw.

View attachment 23142View attachment 23143

Oh WOW!!! That is absolutely sickening.

 

[Mel70]

I saw the ages and I want to say they are 7 and 3ish. It's up there "somewhere" in one of the articles. I'm not sure if it said where they are now, but they were with grandma when mom supposedly left with Kyran because she 'needed a break'.

I read that too. Break from reality?.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Last known picture of ‘missing presumed dead’ 8-year-old boy Kyran Durnin

This is the last known picture of ‘missing presumed dead’ eight-year-old boy Kyran Durnin.

www.sundayworld.com

Last known picture of ‘missing presumed dead’ 8-year-old boy Kyran Durnin​

This is the last known picture of ‘missing presumed dead’ eight-year-old boy Kyran Durnin.

The image, which was posted on social media by Kyran’s mum Dayla (24) in April of 2022, is one of the last visual ‘proofs of life’ that gardaí investigating his suspected murder have obtained.

A source confirmed yesterday that the image, which was accompanied by a comment from Dayla’s mum describing Kyran and his siblings as ‘the three who mean the most’, was published ‘around the same time’ Kyran’s attendance at a primary school in Dundalk ended.

He said gardaí are aware that pictures of Kyran had regularly been uploaded to the Facebook page until the practice stopped abruptly in April of 2022.

“And it does appear to be the case the last image of him was posted around the time he was last seen in the school.

“But, from the point of view of the investigation, gardaí are not putting a definitive timeline on it.

“The reason for that is that anything that says Kyran was definitely missing from 2022 might stop people, with information about his possible movements after that time, coming forward.

“But there is information publicly available until a specific time frame and then it starts disappearing.”



They also confirmed the appeal for Dayla Durnin had been stood down.

The source confirmed she had been located with the co-operation of police in the UK.

“She is in a different jurisdiction,” the source said, “but we do know where she is. And there has been a level of interaction.”

He confirmed such a level of interaction is standard and that many other people who had past interactions or a familial relationship with Kyran are being spoken as part of the investigation.

 

[Guess Who]

Last known picture of ‘missing presumed dead’ 8-year-old boy Kyran Durnin

This is the last known picture of ‘missing presumed dead’ eight-year-old boy Kyran Durnin.

www.sundayworld.com

Last known picture of ‘missing presumed dead’ 8-year-old boy Kyran Durnin​

This is the last known picture of ‘missing presumed dead’ eight-year-old boy Kyran Durnin.

The image, which was posted on social media by Kyran’s mum Dayla (24) in April of 2022, is one of the last visual ‘proofs of life’ that gardaí investigating his suspected murder have obtained.

A source confirmed yesterday that the image, which was accompanied by a comment from Dayla’s mum describing Kyran and his siblings as ‘the three who mean the most’, was published ‘around the same time’ Kyran’s attendance at a primary school in Dundalk ended.

He said gardaí are aware that pictures of Kyran had regularly been uploaded to the Facebook page until the practice stopped abruptly in April of 2022.

“And it does appear to be the case the last image of him was posted around the time he was last seen in the school.

“But, from the point of view of the investigation, gardaí are not putting a definitive timeline on it.

“The reason for that is that anything that says Kyran was definitely missing from 2022 might stop people, with information about his possible movements after that time, coming forward.

“But there is information publicly available until a specific time frame and then it starts disappearing.”



They also confirmed the appeal for Dayla Durnin had been stood down.

The source confirmed she had been located with the co-operation of police in the UK.

“She is in a different jurisdiction,” the source said, “but we do know where she is. And there has been a level of interaction.”

He confirmed such a level of interaction is standard and that many other people who had past interactions or a familial relationship with Kyran are being spoken as part of the investigation.

Consistent posting pics of him until April 2022 and last seen at school at that time too.

 

[RoundPeg]

Consistent posting pics of him until April 2022 and last seen at school at that time too.

So sad.

 

[Kimster]

I dunno if you can read the FB link I posted. Rumors are flying that grandma had her garden upheavaled and redone about 2 years ago. There are also claims mom was passing off her boyfriend's son as Kyran. Once again, rumors.

Oh wow! I didn’t read that part. All I read were all the angry peoples comments.

 

[Kimster]

I saw the ages and I want to say they are 7 and 3ish. It's up there "somewhere" in one of the articles. I'm not sure if it said where they are now, but they were with grandma when mom supposedly left with Kyran because she 'needed a break'.

No one says a word until the mom goes missing! Grrrrr.

 

[Kimster]

Hopefully people posting this info on fb are not just posting on fb but also letting authorities know.

If they are any kind of authorities at all, they are watching.

 

[Guess Who]

No one says a word until the mom goes missing! Grrrrr.

Or the kids were not listened to or threatened to keep quiet are possible. My hope is that the kids will have some answers, at least the oldest one.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Kyran Durnin: Former family home searched after disappearance

A murder investigation is under way for eight-year-old Kyran Durnin who is missing, presumed dead.

www.bbc.com

Police search family's former home for missing boy​

Gardaí (Irish police) investigating the suspected murder of an eight-year-old boy are searching his former family home in Dundalk, County Louth.

Gardaí have said the search operation will continue on Wednesday and could enter a third day on Thursday, according to Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

On Tuesday morning, Ch Supt Alan McGovern addressed reporters outside Dundalk Garda station, flanked by two images of the missing boy.

He confirmed the location of the search was a rented house in Emer Terrace in Dundalk town.

He said the property was known to have been the home of Kyran's family for a period of years until May 2024.

Gardaí took possession of the house on Monday, acting under a search warrant.

Ch Supt McGovern explained there would be forensic and technical examinations of the house, garden and adjoining open ground.

"I must emphasise that the current tenants of this house are not connected in anyway with Kyran or his disappearance," the officer added.


The officer also thanked members of the public who have contacted the investigation team so far, but he urged other witnesses to come forward.

"Please do not assume that the investigation team know the information that you may have," he said.

"Any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, will be welcomed."

He added that any information given about Kyran's disappearance would be treated in the strictest confidence.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Search continues at former family home of Kyran Durnin

Gardaí will today continue searching the former family home of Kyran Durnin in Dundalk, Co Louth.

www.rte.ie

Search continues at former family home of Kyran Durnin in Co Louth​

Gardaí will today continue searching the former family home of Kyran Durnin in Dundalk, Co Louth.

The extensive search operation at this property on Emer Terrace in Dundalk enters a second day today.

The house itself is being searched and will be the subject of technical and forensic examinations while the garden to the rear of the property is being excavated.

 

[RoundPeg]

Search continues at former family home of Kyran Durnin

Gardaí will today continue searching the former family home of Kyran Durnin in Dundalk, Co Louth.

www.rte.ie

Search continues at former family home of Kyran Durnin in Co Louth​

Gardaí will today continue searching the former family home of Kyran Durnin in Dundalk, Co Louth.

The extensive search operation at this property on Emer Terrace in Dundalk enters a second day today.

The house itself is being searched and will be the subject of technical and forensic examinations while the garden to the rear of the property is being excavated.

Oh, the garden rumor.

 

[Kimster]

Oh, the garden rumor.

I’m sure glad they’re checking it out.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Gardai complete search of Kyran Durnin’s former family home in Dundalk

Gardaí say: “Do not rule out any information that you may have."

www.ireland-live.ie

Gardai complete search of Kyran Durnin’s former family home in Dundalk​

Gardaí investigating the disappearance of Kyran Durnin say they have completed searches of a house and adjoining open lands at Emer Terrace in Dundalk.

Garda say the results of the search are not being released for operational purposes but continue to appeal to anyone who has any information in connection with the disappearance of Kyran to contact investigating Gardaí.

 

[Kimster]

Gardai complete search of Kyran Durnin’s former family home in Dundalk

Gardaí say: “Do not rule out any information that you may have."

www.ireland-live.ie

Gardai complete search of Kyran Durnin’s former family home in Dundalk​

Gardaí investigating the disappearance of Kyran Durnin say they have completed searches of a house and adjoining open lands at Emer Terrace in Dundalk.

Garda say the results of the search are not being released for operational purposes but continue to appeal to anyone who has any information in connection with the disappearance of Kyran to contact investigating Gardaí.

I wonder if it's normal over there to announce if they found a body during a search? In the USA, they do.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Gardaí following up "huge volume" of calls in Kyran Durnin disappearance probe

It comes as the Garda Commissioner described the case as “extraordinary”, saying he has never seen one like it in his 40-year career

www.irishmirror.ie

Gardaí following up on "huge volume" of calls in probe into disappearance of Kyran Durnin​

Gardaí probing the disappearance of Kyran Durnin are following up on a “huge volume” of calls.

Some have included claimed sightings of the boy, which detectives hope will aid them in establishing when he was last seen alive, and whether that was over two years ago as suspected.

As a search and excavation operation at the former Durnin family home in Dundalk, Co Louth, concluded on Thursday, with no major discoveries made, Gardaí were expected to look at another property connected to the family in Drogheda.

However, detectives appeared to be no closer to making arrests, with sources saying it would be a “strategic error” to detain any persons of interest at this point in the investigation. A source told the Irish Mirror on Friday night: “There are unlikely to be any developments in this now in the short term.”

They added arrests could be made only when evidence gathered by Gardaí provided the grounds for such a move.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Days of more questions than answers in search for Kyran

As many children get ready to enjoy the Halloween mid-term break, an eight-year-old boy, missing for up to two years and now presumed dead, remains unaccounted for, writes Marc O'Driscoll.

www.rte.ie

Days of more questions than answers in search for Kyran Durnin​

As many children get ready to enjoy the Halloween mid-term break, an eight-year-old boy, missing for up to two years and now presumed dead, remains unaccounted for.

The harrowing facts in the case of Kyran Durnin have stopped people in their tracks this week. Two birthdays. Two Christmases. Two years. How did nobody notice that he was missing?

It is now just 10 days since gardaí upgraded their investigation into his disappearance from a missing person's case to one of murder.

As the story this week garnered growing national and international attention, the focus remains a young boy, who should be enjoying some of life’s happiest years.

Kyran was reported missing from his home in Drogheda on 30 August 2024. Who exactly filed this missing person’s report at Drogheda Garda Station still remains unknown.

Gardaí were told that he was last seen in the town two days previous, but following extensive inquiries, detectives uncovered information that led them to believe that Kyran was missing a lot longer than 48 hours.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Mother of missing boy Kyran Durnin ‘unable to help gardai’

Gardai have found no evidence of Christmas or birthday presents or clothes being bought for Kyran since 2022

www.thetimes.com

Mother of missing boy Kyran Durnin ‘unable to help gardai’​

The mother of Kyran Durnin, the missing boy last seen alive two years ago, has been unable to assist gardai in investigating what became of her son.

Dayla Durnin, 24, was found by the British police in early August when gardai requested a welfare check after she and her son were reported missing.

Durnin was found but her son was not, and an investigation and review were opened. The Sunday Times was unable to reach her last week.


None of the state agencies that interacted with Kyran appear to have checked whether he was later registered with a new school. Social workers from Tusla did meet Durnin in the company of another boy of a similar age to Kyran, but gardai do not believe that he was Kyran.

The investigation has failed to find any evidence of Christmas or birthday presents or clothes being bought for Kyran since 2022. The gardai opened an investigation into his whereabouts when Tusla raised concerns about him on August 30.

Kyran and his mother were both reported missing after she left a note to say she was leaving the family home to recover from anxiety. The approximate date of the last sighting of the boy and his mother in Drogheda, according to the missing person report made to gardai, was August 28. Gardai later established that his mother had travelled to Northern Ireland and on to Ipswich. She was last seen in the Republic on August 29.

 

[Tresir]

Kyran Durnin: ‘Persons of interest’ identified by gardaí investigating assumed murder

Gardaí say while arrests expected in time, more evidence is required to create necessary grounds for making first arrests, information from public being followed-up

www.irishtimes.com

Kyran Durnin: ‘Persons of interest’ identified by gardaí investigating assumed murder​

Gardaí say while arrests expected in time, more evidence is required to create necessary grounds for making first arrests, information from public being followed-up​

Expand

A mechanical digger used by gardaí in a search in Dundalk, Co Louth, for Kyran Durnin (inset) leaves the area on Thursday. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire
Conor Lally
Fri Oct 25 2024 - 19:00
Gardaí have identified key suspects as part of the investigation into the disappearance, assumed killing, of Kyran Durnin (8) but will not move to arrest them unless they can secure evidence on which to ground arrests.

Detectives believe a number of people they have already spoken to at length have more information about Kyran and what happened to him but which they have not shared with gardaí to date. However, while arrests are anticipated in time, sources said gardaí must have very specific evidence in the case to put to suspects, adding the inquiry has not yet reached that stage.

Gardaí have been working to track the movements of the persons of interest, the level and nature of the contact they have had with each other and also their mobile phone use and where they have resided and travelled in recent years.

The search of a house in Dundalk, Co Louth, this week, along with excavating the back garden and a nearby plot, has been completed and gardaí uncovered no evidence the boy’s remains may have been concealed there. That house, on Emer Terrace, was the Durnin family home until May and locals there have been spoken to by gardaí in a bid to determine whether they ever saw, or spoke to, Kyran and when that was.

READ MORE

​

A second property, also in Co Louth, was being reviewed with the possibility of extensive searching taking place, though no such move has yet been made.​

Garda sources said a very high volume of calls had been received from members of the public since it emerged last week the missing persons appeal for Kyran and his mother, Dayla (24), was being stood down and a murder inquiry commenced into the assumed killing of the boy.

[ Kyran Durnin case: Gardaí receive ‘huge volume’ of information from public on missing boyOpens in new window ]

Some of the information received includes possible sightings of the boy at a much later time than the last confirmed sightings of Kyran, in his national school in Dundalk around May-June 2022. However, Garda sources stressed all of the leads received from members of the public would have to be checked to determine their usefulness and accuracy.

Gardaí upgraded the case to one of a murder inquiry after being unable to find any evidence, during the early stages of their investigation, that Kyran was alive. A family member reported the child, and his mother, missing at the end of August, with the Garda investigation beginning immediately.

[ Kyran Durnin timeline: What we know so far about missing eight-year-oldOpens in new window ]

That report was made to the Garda a day after the child and family agency, Tusla, flagged its concerns for Kyran’s welfare.

However, gardaí have found no evidence he was still alive in August. It is feared he may have died two years ago, or more, and that his absence somehow went unnoticed. While the case is now a murder inquiry, gardaí have not ruled out the possibility he died in some other way and his remains were then concealed. While Tusla was working with the Durnin family, Kyran was not in State care.

• Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
• Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
• Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis

Conor Lally​

Conor Lally is Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times

 

[Kimster]

Reading that his mum is “unable to assist “ makes me angry.