Distribution firm gains storage standard
POLICE believe they have identified the body of a man found on Anglesey in 1983.
North Wales Police said they have had good DNA results when testing whether the previously unidentified body was that of missing person Conor Whooley.
Mr Whooley went missing from Dublin in 1983, and his family contacted police after a previous bid to identify the body was unsuccessful.
A police spokesman said: “In January 2013, North Wales Police exhumed an unidentified body from Menai Bridge Cemetery as part of Operation Orchid.
“A missing person had been identified as a possible match to the male who had been discovered 1983.
“A DNA profile was gained but later analysis showed that the male could not have been the missing person.”
They added: “As a result of publicity surrounding this and other cases in southern Ireland, the family of missing person Conor Whooley approached the Garda and North Wales Police.
“Subsequent familial DNA samples have provided enough evidence for a file to be submitted to HM Coroner Mr Dewi Pritchard Jones for his consideration.”
Mr Whooley, from Greystones in County Wicklow, was 24 when he went missing.
DC Don Kenyon, the investigating officer for Operation Orchid, said: “As a result of publicity at
Rhoscolyn in
October in Ireland and a collaborative investigation between the Garda, Forensic Science Ireland and North Wales Police, we have gained sufficient evidence to justify asking the coroner to apply to reopen his inquest to identify the male found in 1983.
“We have been in contact with the family of Conor Whooley and they are receiving support from the Garda Missing Persons Unit.
“I hope that this positive news will encourage other families of missing people to provide DNA samples to help solve other outstanding cases in North Wales and beyond.”
In a statement, Mr Whooley’s family said: “The family of Conor Whooley from Greystones, Co Wicklow would like to sincerely thank North Wales Police (in particular DC Don Kenyon), and the Irish Gardai (especially Garda Richie Lynch) for their tremendous efforts in helping to identify the remains of their son and brother,
Conor.
“Conor, who was 24 at the time, went missing in August 1983 and his remains were found on a beach in Anglesey later that year.
“After an unsuccessful attempt at identification, Conor was buried in a grave in the Menai Bridge Cemetery in Anglesey, Wales.”
They added: “After hearing about Operation Orchid on RTE television, Conor’s mother provided a DNA sample which confirmed that he was interred in the unmarked grave in Wales.
“Conor’s family are relieved to know his final resting place and that he has been cared for by the people of Anglesey and Menai Bridge in particular.
“They also know that other Irish families have had family members located through Operation Orchid and they would encourage families of the missing to contact the authorities to seek help and especially to add their names to the DNA database.”
A DISTRIBUTION firm with a depot in Llandygai is celebrating a major business boost after gaining top grades for a vital storage standard certification at its new £3m Wrexham warehouse.
The team at McCarthy Distribution are delighted by news the company has been awarded AA status following a recent inspection for the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Global Standard for Storage and Distribution.
The firm’s 21 metre high centre, known as Elm Point, was officially opened in March this year by Wrexham AM Lesley Griffiths. The company also has a satellite depot on Llandygai Industrial Estate, near Bangor.
The BRC introduced the Global Standard for Storage and Distribution in 2006 to work alongside global standards covering the production of food, packaging and consumer products.
Successful companies have to meet a 20-page, 162 point criteria to show they employ best practice and are committed to ongoing improvement.
McCarthy Distribution, a haulage, storage and distribution firm, was set up in its current guise 25 years ago. It now has 75 people on the payroll and a 30-strong fleet of vehicles.