The skeletal remains of a child have been found in the search for a boy who hasn’t been seen for three years.
Gardaí (Irish police) said they believe the remains are those of Daniel Aruebose, who was last seen in 2022 but never reported missing.
He would be aged seven today.
The remains were found on Wednesday during a search of open ground in Donabate, Co. Dublin, which officers began investigating a few weeks ago.
It came after the Irish child and family agency, Tusla, raised concerns and alerted officers on 29 August.
It’s understood they have spoken to members of Daniel’s family, who are abroad, as part of the investigation. in a statement, Gardai said that officers would “investigate all of the circumstances” of the boy’s disappearance.
Police had previously stated that Daniel was “presumed dead”. Formal identification will now be done via DNA analysis.
Officers said the boy was last known to be living at The Gallery Apartments in Donabate, about 10 miles (16km) north of central Dublin.
They conducted a “technical examination” of a flat there on 31 August and are continuing house-to-house inquiries.
Police are urging anyone who lived in The Gallery Apartments from July 2019 to the present to get in touch with Swords Garda Station or call a confidential hotline on 1800 666 111 – no matter how insignificant the information might seem.
Ireland’s minister for children, Norma Foley, said she was “deeply saddened” by the discovery of the remains.
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Daniel’s case comes a year after Tusla raised the alarm over another missing boy, Kryan Durnin, who was six when he was last seen in 2022.
Two people have been arrested in that case but no charges have been filed.
Although there is no suggestion that the two cases are connected, the apparent similarities in circumstances, with delays in reporting children as missing, have shocked many in Ireland.
This story originally appeared on Skynews
