Search continues at former home of missing child

Kyran Durnin was reported missing in August

Family handout Kyran is smiling into the camera. He's wearing a blue spiderman hoodie and sitting on a brown leather sofa. He has short brown hair. — Kyran Durnin was reported missing in August

Gardaí (Irish police) investigating the suspected murder of an eight-year-old boy are expected to resume a forensic search at his former family home in County Louth.

Kyran Durnin was reported missing in Drogheda at the end of August, but last week gardaí said he is now “presumed dead” and they began a murder investigation.

The terraced property being searched in Dundalk – about 20 miles north of Drogheda – was his family’s home for several years until May 2024.

The search at the rented property in Emer Terrace, in Dundalk, began on Tuesday.

Forensic examinations are being carried out Emer Terrace, Dundalk, where Kyran’s family lived until May this year

PA A Gardai forensic officer on a street with terraced houses. They're wearing white with a blue mask and gloves. The opening to a house is boarded up with metal. A garda sign saying no entry in English and Irish is outside the house. — Forensic examinations are being carried out Emer Terrace, Dundalk, where Kyran’s family lived until May this year

Timeline of what has been confirmed so far

2021 – 2022 – Kyran was a pupil at a national [primary] school near his home in Dundalk, but he did not return to the school after the 2022 summer holidays.
May 2024 – Kyran’s family moved out of their home in Emer Terrace in Dundalk, where they had been living for a number of years.
Unknown date in August 2024 – Tulsa, the Irish state agency responsible for child protection, alerted gardaí about “a significant concern about Kyran”.
28 August 2024 – The approximate date of the last sighting of the boy and his mother in Drogheda, according to a missing person report made to gardaí.
30 August 2024 – Kyran and his 24-year-old mother Dayla Durnin were reported missing from their home in Drogheda.
4 September 2024 – Gardaí issued a public missing persons appeal, seeking help to find Dayla and Kyran.
16 October 2024 – Gardaí said they now believed that “Kyran is missing, presumed dead” and they confirmed they have begun a murder inquiry.
21 October 2024 – Acting under a search warrant, gardaí take possession of the Durnins’ former family home in Emer Terrace, Dundalk.
22 October 2024 – a forensic examination of the house, garden and nearby open ground began. Officers also confirmed Kyran’s mother whereabouts.