Spot identified by psychic and cadaver dogs to be searched in Nairac hunt
CLAIMS that the remains of murdered Army captain Robert Nairac could be buried in a forest in Co Louth are to be investigated.
It comes after specialist dogs alerted their handler to a patch of ground where human remains may be buried.
Captain Nairac is one of the so-called Disappeared — people who were murdered and secretly buried by republicans.
The captain, who was also an Army intelligence officer, was shot dead by the Provisional IRA in May 1977 after being abducted from a pub in Dromintee, Co Armagh.
Ravensdale Forest, across the border from south Armagh, was searched by the dogs on Tuesday.
They were hired by former soldier and documentary-maker Alan Barry, who is trying to locate Nairac’s remains.
The cadaver dogs were trained and handled by Paul Murphy, who is based in Co Carlow and trains dogs for the Garda and the Irish Civil Defence, as well as US police forces.
Mr Barry hired the dogs after previous efforts to provide evidence that would pinpoint where Captain Nairac may be buried were not accepted by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains.
Earlier this year Mr Barry hired the psychic Diane Lazarus, who he said led him to the exact spot the cadaver dogs identified. He said: “The cadaver dogs confirmed the evidence when they led me to the same area again and I was then able to present the case to the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR), who now have no choice but to investigate it.”
Mr Barry said there had been no further developments in the case but that he was hopeful of a positive outcome.
“I took Diane Lazarus with me to south Armagh and she led me to that exact location that was later confirmed by the dogs.
“The ICLVR don’t investigate claims by psychics which, to be honest, I can understand — that’s why I made the decision to use the cadaver dogs,” he said.
A spokesman for the commission told The Irish Times that it intends to send a forensic archaeologist to the site to conduct a preliminary investigation.