LAST UPDATE | 13 Jun

GARDAÍ ARE CONTINUING to question a suspect in the murder of Annie McCarrick as searchers at a house in Dublin have called in a PSNI cadaver dog to search for human remains. 

The dog arrived this morning, at the site of the search in Monastery Walk, Clondalkin, where a garda search team are performing a detailed forensic examination.

Gardaí said the current residents of the house that is being searched are not connected in anyway with Annie McCarrick or her disappearance.

The suspect, understood to be a successful businessman who has been living outside of Dublin, had been identified by gardaí in the past, and he has given a number of statements. He has been released without charge this afternoon.

Sources said a new review of the investigation file found a number of new points to query the suspect on and for the first time gave gardaí enough to make an arrest.

As part of that a new forensic strategy has also been developed and the gardaí have obtained a warrant to search the house in Clondalkin.

They have erected fencing and employed heavy machinery including kango hammers and diggers to carry out a dig at the property. In a statement, gardaí confirmed that investigators are being “supported by a cadaver dog from an external agency”.

It is understood that parts of the garden and the house have been identified as locations for an invasive search. Gardaí have said the search operation will continue over the weekend.

Northern Ireland Police Service dog handlers arrived with their cadaver dog this morning, which is trained to detect the presence of human remains.  

Annie McCarrick. Rollingnews.ie Rollingnews.ie

Annie McCarrick, a US citizen, was 26-years-old when she disappeared without trace from her home in Sandymount, Dublin on 26 March 1993.

Her case was formally upgraded to a murder investigation in 2023, following a written request from her mother Nancy McCarrick to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris. 

One theory being explored by the investigation team in recent years is that Annie was murdered by a man who had approached her previously.

A source said there is a belief that she was the victim of a campaign of harassment by the man who had become obsessed with her.

McCarrick, originally from New York, worked as a waitress at the Courtyard restaurant in Donnybrook and Café Java in Leeson Street.

On the morning of 26 March 1993, McCarrick bought groceries in Quinnsworth, Sandymount Road, which were found left unpacked in shopping bags in her apartment.

A receipt in the bags confirms the date and time of purchase as 26 March 1993 at 11.02am.