A house in Drogheda, County Louth, is being searched as part of the investigation into the murder of a six-year-old boy who disappeared more than two years ago.

Kyran Durnin was reported missing at the end of last summer but gardaí (Irish police) believe he may have been killed more than two years earlier.

They began a murder investigation in October, saying they were treating Kyran as missing, presumed dead.

That same month they carried out a dig at his former family home in Emer Terrace, Dundalk, but there was no sign of his body.

On Wednesday, a white cordon was erected around a house on Hand Street in Drogheda.

Officers from the Garda Technical Bureau undertook a forensic examination of the property, including the rear garden.

A mini-digger was used to excavate land.

The search has been stood down for the night and is set to resume at first light on Thursday.

Kyran was originally reported missing alongside his mother, Dayla Durnin, in August 2024.

One of Kyran’s grandmothers claimed she had last seen them in her home in Drogheda and, at that time, she appealed for her daughter Dayla to contact her.

Dayla was later found alive in Great Britain without Kyran.

Gardaí investigating the schoolboy’s disappearance have made two arrests during the course of their inquiry so far.

A man and a woman were arrested two days apart in mid-December but they were both released without charge within a day of being detained.

The man, who was arrested on suspicion of Kyran’s murder, was found dead at his home in Drogheda just days after his release from custody.

He was named locally as 36-year-old Anthony Maguire.

Confirming the latest search at a “domestic residence” in Drogheda, gardaí said they were “aware of ongoing extensive public commentary” on their investigation.

They warned that most of the speculation, rumours and theories on what may have happened to Kyran was “inaccurate and misinformed”.

“Such ill-informed public commentary is not only disruptive to the Garda investigations but also adds to the trauma experienced by victims families,” they added.

Kyran had been a pupil at the national [primary] school near his home in Dundalk until the summer of 2022.

He did not return to class after the summer holidays and it is understood authorities were told he was moving to Northern Ireland and to a new school in Newry.

Tusla, the Irish state agency responsible for child welfare and protection, said it received no referrals or concern about Kyran’s attendance or educational welfare between 2022 and 2024.

In December, two houses were searched in Drogheda. One of the searches involved the use of a cadaver dog.

The results of the searches were not made public.

The Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, previously said he had never seen a case like this in his 40-year career in policing on both sides of the border.

2021-2022 – Kyran attends a national [primary] school near his home in Dundalk, but does not return to the school after the 2022 summer holidays.

May 2024 – Kyran’s family move out of their home in Emer Terrace in Dundalk, where they had been living for a number of years.

Unknown date in August 2024 – Tusla, the Irish state agency responsible for child protection, alerts gardaí about “a significant concern about Kyran”.

30 August 2024 – Kyran and his 24-year-old mother Dayla Durnin are reported missing from their home in Drogheda.

4 September 2024 – Gardaí issue a public missing persons appeal, seeking help to find Dayla and Kyran.

16 October 2024 – Gardaí say they now believe that “Kyran is missing, presumed dead” and they confirm they have begun a murder inquiry.

22 October 2024 – Kyran’s former family home and garden in Emer Terrace, Dundalk, is searched by forensic investigators, as well as nearby open ground.

24 October 2024 – the Dundalk search ends, with gardaí adding that the results of the search are not being released for operational purposes.

31 October 2024 – Tusla declines to publicly release its review of its interactions with Kyran’s family, adding information it held on him was lost in a cyber attack.

10 December 2024 – A woman is arrested by gardaí investigating Kyran’s disappearance and murder but is released without charge the following day.

12 December 2024 – Two houses in Drogheda are searched and a man is arrested on suspicion of Kyran’s murder, but he too is released without charge the next day.

17 December 2024 – The man who had been arrested and released – named locally as 36-year-old Anthony Maguire – is found dead at his home in Drogheda.

26 February 2024 – Gardaí begin a forensic search at a “domestic residence” in Drogheda.