Woman arrested on suspicion of murder of missing schoolboy Kyran Durnin, 8, as investigators quizzing suspect at station

A WOMAN has been arrested in connection with the disappearance and murder of eight-year-old Kyran Durnin.

The suspect has been arrested today on suspicion of murder.

She is being held in a Garda Station in the east of the country.

Kyran was reported missing on August 30 last but since then Gardai have stated that they believe he has not been seen alive since the end of the summer school term in May/June 2022.

A spokesperson said: "Gardaí investigating the disappearance and murder of Kyran Durnin (8 years) have today, Tuesday 10 December 2024, arrested a female on suspicion of murder.

"The woman is being detained under Section 4 Criminal Justice Act 1984 at a Garda Station in the east of the country.

"A Garda spokesperson is not available.

"An Garda Síochána continues to appeal to any person with any information, on the disappearance and murder of Kyran Durnin, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to contact the Garda Investigation Team at Drogheda Garda Station on 041 987 4200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or speak with any member of An Garda Síochána."

Detectives believe Kyran was murdered, but have yet to establish how and when he died.

He was reported missing along with his mother Dayla, 24, on August 30 by an individual who said they were last seen together at a house in Drogheda, Co Louth two days previously.

Around the same time, Tusla, the child protection agency, also reported the little boy’s disappearance to the Gardai.

An eagle-eyed social worker realised that a young boy brought to a meeting with child protection officials was not Kyran, and raised the alarm.

Over the month of September, as Gardai began their initial enquiries, it’s understood a person came forward and told cops they believed the child was dead.

The more people that Gardai interviewed, the more they discovered that nobody had actually seen the child in almost two years.

By October, Gardai launched a full scale murder inquiry.

They quickly established that the little boy was last seen alive publicly at a school in Dundalk at the end of May 2022.

The family had been living in a rented house nearby, and the primary school Kyran attended was told he was leaving because the family were moving across the border to Newry.

SEARCHES CARRIED OUT

Detectives soon tracked down Kyran’s mother after discovering she was staying in Ipswich, England.

She told Suffolk police she fled the country because she feared for her own safety, but she also had no idea where her son was.

An extensive Garda search of the family’s former Dundalk home found little or nothing.

Officers dug up the back of the terraced house and some nearby waste ground, but there was no sign of the child’s remains.

Gardai have indicated that there will be more searches and digs to try and find Kyran. The public will be informed before they move in. The next searches are likely to be in the Drogheda area.