A month after gardaí began investigating the Co Louth boy’s disappearance Kyran Durnin The investigation team was unable to determine where and how he died.

Although the investigation was now a murder investigation, detectives still did not rule out the possibility that he died some other way, perhaps accidentally or unintentionally.

But intense investigations – especially since the trial began escalated to murder investigation -We have not found any evidence that Kyran is alive after mid-2022, when he will be 6 years old. New searches are expected to begin in the Co Louth area from this week.

Garda Commissioner Drew HarrisMinister of Justice Helen McEntee and Minister of Children Roderic O’Gorman They all expressed shock that such a young child could disappear for up to 2.5 years without being noticed.

Child and family agency Tusla confirmed it was in contact with the Durnin family but said Kyran was not in the family’s care. Although Kyran was not understood to have been there, it is understood the family had recently met Tusla staff earlier this year.

( 37 children have been reported missing from Tusla care home so far this yearOpens in new window )

Gardaí are checking reports from members of the public who claim to have seen the child. They received information that he was staying in Dundalk with his family earlier this year but were unable to confirm this. Gardaí were unable to find any evidence that Kyran was alive after mid-2022, when he was last seen at his national school in Dundalk.

Tusla notified the Garda of concerns about Kyran’s welfare a month ago and a missing persons investigation was launched. Thus, an attempt was made to determine the whereabouts of the child and his mother, Dayla Durnin (24). A family member reported them missing He went to the Garda on 30 August, the day after Tusla raised concerns in Dundalk, claiming their absence was only noticed on the morning of 29 August.

( Kyran Durnin: O’Gorman says ‘very clear failings’ in case of Co Louth son missingOpens in new window )

Gardaí have requested assistance from police in Suffolk in an attempt to find Ms Durnin. A missing person investigation into the mother and child was stopped when their location was located two weeks ago. At the same time gardaí upgraded the investigation into what happened to Kyran to a murder investigation.

Podcast: How can a child go missing in Ireland without raising an alarm?

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Raising the status of the investigation gave the investigative team greater authority to make arrests and obtain search warrants. Since the upgrade gardaí have been checking phone and social media records of those involved, as well as search and excavation Last week at the old Durnin family home in Emer Terrace, Dundalk.

Gardaí were looking for any evidence of Kyran’s movements over the past two years during the Dundalk search, as the Durnin family lived at the property until last May. The backyard and nearby land were excavated but nothing was found.