A search for the body of a 21-year-old man with special needs, believed to have been murdered and secretly buried by republicans almost 40 years ago, started today in a seaside village in Northern Ireland.
Archaeologists and other experts are examining a beach near Larne, Co Antrim, for the remains of Peter Wilson.
The west Belfast man went missing in August 1973 after leaving his home in the Beechmount area.
His family believe the IRA was responsible, although the organisation’s leadership has never officially admitted the killing.
The search, by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains (ICLVR), at Red Bay in the village of Waterfoot, follows a tip-off.
The commission has so far found eight bodies at rural sites in the Republic.
This is the first search undertaken in Northern Ireland and the first in a populated area.
While Mr Wilson‘s parents have since died, his surviving family members today expressed hope that their long wait would soon be over.
“We are so relieved that a search for his body will start today,” they said in a statement.
“The beach at Waterfoot was a place we have visited often over the years with our mother and children, unaware that Peter was buried there.”
PA