A leading Garda who helped search for missing Mary Boyle believes she was murdered just hours after disappearing and remains on a lonely hillside outside Ballyshannon.
Retired Garda Sergeant Martin Collins spent years trying to solve the mystery disappearance of the little seven year old who vanished in 1977.
Martin says his opinion on Mary’s case hasn’t changed since he first became convinced that she was murdered just hours after being last seen.
“Mary was dead within an hour of going missing and never left the Cashelard hillside alive.
“That was my view very shortly into the investigation and, 36 years later that view has not changed,” said Martin.
Martin said the initial investigation was carried out quickly and a lot of people joined the search.
But he said there were flaws including allowing a number of members of the public into meetings aimed at finding Mary.
Martin revealed how 800 people combed lands in a line around where Mary disappeared and nothing was left uncovered.
“During the search we found men’s pipes, discarded cigarettes, the remains of an apple, a couple of ladies neck chains, some boxes of matches but no child. There wasn’t a hope in the world that there was a thing left behind,” he said.
Gardai will now search an area they believe could hold a shallow grave in the coning weeks.
They have been in touch with Mary’s mother Ann and confirmed they will be digging up a new area of ground on the hillside.
“It’s very tough dealing with all this, alone,” admitted Ann whose husband Charlie died in a boating accident in recent years.
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