THE FAMILY of Charlie Armstrong, whose remains are believed to have been discovered in a Co Monaghan bog on Thursday, will today visit the scene as the body is removed.
Yesterday, a blue tarpaulin fence and digger which gardaí are using for excavations stood out in stark contrast to the lush green landscape and heather surrounding the bog in which the body was discovered.
A large excavation scars the site at Aughrim More, Co Monaghan where the search for Mr Armstrong’s body has been taking place since late June after the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) received an anonymous hand-drawn map. The third map received in relation to Mr Armstrong’s body, it clarified the location of the remains, leading to their discovery early on Thursday.
The partial remains were found 500 yards from the spot where Mr Armstrong’s family erected a wooden cross bearing a plaque with his name, date of disappearance and the words “May he rest in peace”.
Almost 30 years after his father’s disappearance, Mr Armstrong’s youngest son Terry said the sense of relief felt among family members was “unreal”.
“It’s great in one way, but it’s tinged with sadness in another . . . although we’ve been waiting 29 years, it’s come as a shock. It’s like a sudden death in the family, but there’s a great sense of relief in another way,” he said yesterday.
“We never thought this would happen. We knew they were digging, but at the same time we didn’t think anything would come from it because we’ve been let down so many times.”
The scene remained closed yesterday as forensic investigators continued their search in what are understood to be difficult conditions in waterlogged terrain.
The discovery on the Co Monaghan side of Cullaville, on the border, is near the spot where the bodies of Brian McKinney and John McClory were discovered in 1999.
ICLVR commissioner Frank Murray said that, while the remains were likely those of Mr Armstrong, positively identifying them could take four weeks.
“We cannot give an authoritative decision on whose remains were discovered, but we would be cautiously optimistic and pleased that we have discovered the remains of Charlie Armstrong.”
The remains are to be taken to the State Pathologist’s office in Dublin. Samples will be sent to a laboratory in England, where a special DNA database contains the genetic codes of all the families of the disappeared.
The father-of-five vanished on Sunday, August 16th, 1981. His car was discovered in a car park beside the Adelphi Cinema in Dundalk. There was no evidence of a struggle. He was not known to have any political enemies in republican south Armagh.
Many people believe the IRA tried to hijack his car and that he resisted, which resulted in his murder. Others in the Crossmaglen area believe he saw or discovered something which may have compromised him.
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said yesterday there was no evidence to suggest that the IRA was involved in Mr Armstrong’s death.
He added “it may be an issue of secondary importance. The fact is this man was killed and his remains were buried, whoever did it, at least now there is the hope the family and particularly his widow” would be able to bury him.