Search to begin for Disappeared victim Seamus Maguire

A search is to begin for the remains of one of the Disappeared - 29-year-old County Antrim man Seamus Maguire.

The Disappeared is the term used to describe 17 people who were abducted, murdered and secretly buried during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Maguire, who was from the village of Aghagallon, near the southeast shore of Lough Neagh, is believed to have been killed in 1976.

In a statement, the Maguire family said Seamus was "much loved" and hope that he will be found so that he can be buried with their parents.

"Our Mum looked for Seamus right up until the day that she died," they added.

A dig organised by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR) will start at nearby Derryclone later on Tuesday.

The ICLVR was set up as part of the Northern Ireland peace process to search for the bodies of the Disappeared.

So far, it has found the remains of 13 of the 17 victims but this will be its first search for Seamus Maguire.

His name was only added to their list four years ago because of a lack of information over his movements in the last years of his life.

"As with other Disappeared cases it was not immediately clear whether or not Seamus Maguire was a missing person case or was the victim of an abduction, murder and secret burial," said the ICLVR's lead investigator, Eamonn Henry.

"It was initially thought that Seamus disappeared sometime around 1973-1974," he explained.

"But it was also subsequently suggested that after spending time in Manchester he may have returned to Northern Ireland and was then killed and secretly buried in the Aghagallon/Derryclone area in 1976 when he was 29.

Speaking to the Good Morning Ulster programme, He described Seamus as an "ordinary young man".

"Unfortunately there's in excess of 40 years between the time he went missing and when the Commission took on this case so we're missing a large chuck of time and time is very valuable in relation to these cases.

"Whatever the issues around specific dates, we are now satisfied that there is sufficient credible information to commence a search in the Derryclone area."

Henry added that while the Commission did get some information it is "not as much as we need to put all the pieces of the jigsaw together" and they are "still missing vital pieces of information in relation to where these people were buried".

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland said his thoughts are with the Maguire family, who have "endured so many years of anguish".

"I am deeply grateful to the Commission for their unceasing efforts to find the Disappeared, and for their painstaking efforts to help ease these families' long suffering," said Hilary Benn.