A search for one of the IRA’s so-called Disappeared victims resumed this week, in a bog close to the border.
Columba McVeigh was 17 when he was abducted from his home village of Donaghmore, County Tyrone and murdered by the IRA in October 1975.
The search began on Monday near Bragan in Co Monaghan, it was conducted by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR), the Irish Daily Star reports.
A statement from the commission said: “Today’s search is merely a re-start of the previous search operation.
"We are keen to stress that this is a continuation of the previous operation and not a new piece of work," explained Geoff Knupfer, head of the Commission's investigation team.
"It is based on a refinement of information received to date and also on a series of surveys undertaken by ICLVR staff in recent months in the forested area."
"It is anticipated that this programme will last for approximately ten to twelve weeks subject to weather conditions."
The teenager, from Donaghmore, County Tyrone, was kidnapped in 1975.
Last autumn, efforts to search for his body were halted due to extreme weather conditions. Prior to that three searches were carried out in the surrounding area.
The teenager's mother, Vera McVeigh, who campaigned tirelessly for the return of his body, died in 2007, aged 82.
McVeigh is one of the 16 people on the commission's list of the Disappeared. The IRA admitted in 1999 that it murdered and buried nine of the so-called Disappeared.
On Monday the commission made a renewed appeal for information on the Columba McVeigh case.
“Any information received is entirely confidential and can only be used to locate victims,” it said.
“It cannot be passed to any other agency, nor can it be used in a court of law.”
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