A new effort to solve the 34-year old mystery of a missing man is being made in north Leitrim this morning with the exhumation of a body in Manorhamilton.
The unidentified man was found in 1986 at Knockback Beach, in Tullaghan.
The exhumation, in St Clare’s Cemetery in Manorhamilton, is under the supervision of detectives from the Garda Missing Persons Bureau, in conjunction with Leitrim County Council and the County Coroner.
The Department of Justice confirmed that a ministerial order for the exhumation had been granted by Minister Helen McEntee.
It is now hoped that advances in forensic science, particularly in DNA identification, could help investigators to finally identify the man.
It is also thought a number of distinctive tattoos on the body could help in the process.
It’s believed the man died from drowning and that no foul play is suspected.
Access to the cemetery in Manorhamilton is restricted during the exhumation.
