Garda press conference: Gardaí last night confirmed a murder inquiry was under way after a body they believe to be that of 11-year-old Robert Holohan was discovered at Inch Strand, Co Cork.
At a press conference in Midleton, senior gardaí said they were anxious to speak to up to 30 people who were in the vicinity of the boy's home on the day he disappeared - Tuesday, January 4th.
Supt Kevin O'Donohoe said the remains discovered near Inch Strand were clothed and that a mobile phone was discovered close to the scene.
He declined to give further information until a post mortem of the boy's remains was officially completed.
Gardaí also made a fresh appeal for information from members of the public who may have been near Inch Strand between January 4th and the discovery of the boy's body on Wednesday.
Supt O'Donohoe said they were "loosely" treating the 30 unaccounted for people who were near Robert's home on the day of his disappearance as "suspects" until their movement could be explained.
In particular they want information from the following people who were near the Ballyedmond area of Midleton on the day of the boy's disappearance:
"These are people we want to trace and possibly eliminate from our inquiries," said Supt O'Donohoe.
He also appealed to mobile or holiday home owners in Inch and Trabolgan to check for signs that the buildings had been occupied in recent days.
Gardaí have received around 1,000 reports of information from members of the public to date.
Chief Supt Kieran McGann said there were now around 100 gardaí working on the case, including 50 who were dealing with telephone reports from the public.
Supt Liam Hayes said he informed the Holohan family on Wednesday night that a body had been found which may have been their son's.
He said the family was traumatised but were being supported by friends and neighbours. A family doctor was also on call to treat the family.
Supt Hayes said it was natural that people in Midleton would be fearful and urged parents to be vigilant. But gardaí said it was important for parents to keep a sense of perspective on events.
Asst Commissioner Tony Hickey said just four children had disappeared in similar circumstances over the last 40 years.
Along with Robert, these were: Philip Cairns from Dublin in 1986, Mary Boyle from Ballyshannon in Co Donegal in 1977 and before that Bernadette Connolly from Sligo.
"Obviously four is too many but people have to be sensitive and reasonable," he added.
Asst Commissioner Hickey also confirmed that gardaí had been in contact with law enforcement authorities in England and Belgium. These were routine inquiries, he said.
He added that there had been instances where people who had committed serious crimes had walked into Garda stations and confessed to their actions.