A teenager's body has been found close to the site where a Co Down boy fell into the sea three weeks ago and disappeared.
Jordan Murdoch (14) went missing in stormy seas at Killough harbour. He was swept away after his 12-year-old friend, David Hackett, was pulled from the water. A life ring, normally kept at the pier, had been removed by vandals.
A huge search operation was mounted involving fishermen from nearby Ardglass and Kilkeel, as well as air-sea crews from the RAF and the Air Corps. Lifeboats were launched and hundreds of volunteers turned out to assist, but the search quickly became a body hunt with one Coastguard official claiming no-one could have survived more than five hours in the water.
It was the largest search operation seen in Northern Ireland, the Coastguard claimed.
A Police Service of Northern Ireland spokeswoman confirmed yesterday: "A body had been recovered on the shore near the pier at the entrance to Killough harbour. We believe it was found by a local search team."
Locals believed the body would be found close to the scene where the boy fell into the sea. Yesterday's discovery was made about 200 yards from the scene.
The search co-ordinator, Mr Mick Mooney, told how his team had ignored those who claimed the body would never be retrieved.
He said: "Some people had the notion that he may have been swept out on the day.
"But certainly on the advice we were taking from local people and the fisherman's rescue team, who the community have great regard for, and who never left this village, we were convinced ourselves he was in there and we were determined to carry on until we got the body.
"Thankfully we did. It had been retrieved approximately 200 yards from where Jordan had been swept into the water."