A dig to find the remains of Mary Boyle have been launched at Cashelard, four miles outside Ballyshannon, County Donegal. Mary Boyle, aged six, went missing 34 years ago while staying with her grandparents.
 
This weekend her family launched a dig on the remote hillside outside Ballyshannon, with aid from the police. The dig was prompted by a Danish psychic, hired by country singer Margo O’Donnell, a close family friend of the Boyle family.
 
On March 18, 1977 March Boyle went missing while visiting her grandparents over the St. Patrick’s Day holiday. She is officially Ireland’s longest-missing person.
 
The Danish psychic, Yan Sterns, pin-pointed the location where the family chose to start the dig. Material removed from the ground will be examined. This was Mr Stern’s third trip to the site.
 
Ann Boyle, Mary’s mother, was at the scene on Sunday waiting for news. She said that over the 34 years there had been several leads and she had acted on all of them.
 
Superintendent Jimmy Coen from Ballyshannon said “The Garda Síochána [police] would act on any information supplied by the general public and in this case, as in any other, we would carry out an investigation based on any information supplied.” He added that Mary Boyle’s case would remain “a live investigation”.