Remains found in 'disappeared' hunt
HUMAN remains have been found by teams searching for a man who disappeared near the border almost 30 years ago.
Father-of-five Charles Armstrong, 57, from Crossmaglen, south Armagh, went missing on his way to Mass in 1981.
He is one of the so-called Disappeared - the 14 men and women abducted and killed by republican paramilitaries at the height of the violence in Northern Ireland. Five bodies have been recovered.
Last night, the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains said the remains were found in Co Monaghan. No further details were revealed.
Mr Armstrong's family have been informed, along with police in the Irish
Republic and the state pathologist.
A statement said: "The recovery is ongoing and the formal identification
process will take some time."
Last night, Mr Armstrong's 80-yearold widow Kathleen told the News
Letter the family were happy at the chance of closure but were also sad
when they heard the news around 5.30pm yesterday.
While it may be some time before Mrs Armstrong can receive confirmation the remains found belong to her husband she said she is hoping and praying that she can finally give him a Christian burial.
SDLP councillor Geraldine Donnelly, who knows the family, said she was
excited that the Armstrongs' prayer may have been answered, but added it
also made her think of the mother of another disappeared man, Gerry Evans from Crossmaglen, whose remains are still missing.
Last July, forensic experts searching for Mr Armstrong's remains were handed a map which was thought could provide vital clues.
The fresh information was sent anonymously and indicated a previously
unsearched area in Co Monaghan.
At the time, several locations had already been searched near Carrickmacross, not far from the border with Northern Ireland.
The IRA admitted in 1999 that it murdered and buried nine of the
Disappeared - Seamus Wright, Kevin McKee, Jean McConville, Columba McVeigh, Brendan Megraw, John McClory, Brian McKinney, Eamon Molloy and Danny McElhone - in secret locations.
The bodies of Mr Molloy, Mr McKinney, Mr McClory, Ms McConville and Mr McElhone have been found.
Others who vanished during the Troubles include Gerry Evans, Robert Nairac and Seamus Ruddy, who disappeared in France and whose murder was
admitted by the INLA.
The ICLVR was set up by the British and Irish governments in 1999 and reports to the Northern Ireland Office in Belfast and the Irish Justice
Department in Dublin.
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Tuesday 14 February 2012
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