A DIG for the body of US woman Annie McCarrick is due to begin today — 32 years after she vanished, The Irish Sun can reveal.
Gardai sensationally swooped in and arrested a man in his 60s on suspicion of murder yesterday morning — the first ever made in the case.
We have learned that the suspect — who was known to Annie — is being quizzed over more than five separate alibis which the gardai are probing for any possible contradictions.
It is understood the suspect denies any involvement in her disappearance.
While he was being brought into custody yesterday, a digger, a skip, and power tools along with dozens of cops arrived at a home in Clondalkin in southwest Dublin as a major search got underway.
The property has undergone extensive renovations over the years.
However, gardai stressed its current occupiers “are not connected in any way” to the case.
Officers are probing if Annie visited the house.
The search there is expected to last a number of days involving both technical and forensic examinations.
Senior sources say a cadaver dog, understood to be the PSNI’s canine, is also on standby and will be brought into the search if officers call for it.
American Annie was last seen alive on March 26, 1993 in Sandymount in south Dublin.
Despite extensive investigations, her body has never been found, nor have any definitive answers.
After the case was upgraded to murder two years ago, the gardai focused on two men who sources say were among her many friends.
Both have assisted with inquiries over the years, with one of them interviewed abroad in recent times.
The second man was the suspect lifted between 7am and 8am yesterday morning when detectives from Irishtown Garda Station landed at his home, which is outside Dublin.
Gardai conducted what sources say was a “cursory search” of the property, but it was not invasive.
‘DISCREPANCIES IN ACCOUNTS’
The suspect, aged in his early 60s, is a married man.
A source told The Irish Sun: “Gardai are focusing on inconsistencies and discrepancies in the accounts previously given to them by this man.”
The source revealed they are probing whether false alibis may have been created at the time.
They added: “There is fresh information in terms of what they are focusing on regarding what cropped up during the reviews of the case and developments with speaking to others too.
“This man would have been known to Annie at the time of her disappearance. He hasn’t lived in Dublin for some time.”
POTENTIAL ASSAULT PROBE
The man can be questioned for 24 hours, excluding breaks for up to eight hours sleep, and will have to be released or charged today.
Gardai are also probing allegations the suspect once assaulted Annie whilst he was intoxicated.
The major arrest and search op is being led by an investigation team from the DMR South Central Division, Serious Crime Unit based at Irishtown Garda Station under the direction of a senior investigating officer.
It also has the assistance of the Serious Crime Review Team, aka the Cold Case unit, along with the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
RESTRICTED AIRSPACE
A temporary restricted airspace has been put in place by the Irish Aviation Authority over the search, banning drones from flying overhead.
Born on March 21, 1967, Annie was 26 years old at the time of her disappearance.
Originally from New York in the US, she was an only child of Nancy and John, who died in 2009 without any answers.
“There is fresh information in terms of what they are focusing on regarding what cropped up during the reviews of the case and developments with speaking to others too.”
An Irish Sun source
As a teenager, Annie visited Ireland on a school trip and fell in love with the country and way of life.
When she returned back to the US, she told her parents of her intention to return here to live.
She did and in the 1980s, she completed her third level studies at St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra and at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth before returning to New York in 1991.
There she hit the books once more at Stoney Brook University, New York.
DAY OF HER DISAPPERANCE
She moved back to Dublin permanently on January 4, 1993, and settled into rental accommodation at St Catherine’s Court, Sandymount, Dublin 4.
On Friday, March 26 of that year, almost four months later, Annie spoke to her two other flatmates before they both headed off home for the weekend.
She made arrangements with other friends inviting them to her apartment for dinner the following day.
But when they turned up that evening, she was not there.
REPORT MADE
On Sunday, March 28, her friends began to worry as they discovered she had not turned up to work all weekend.
That evening, her pals discovered her groceries — that had been purchased by Annie on the Friday morning in Quinnsworth on Sandymount Road — had been left unpacked in shopping bags in her home.
A receipt confirmed the date and time of purchase as 26/03/1993 at 11.02am, and this is the last confirmed activity of Annie.
She was reported missing by a friend at Irishtown Garda Station on the evening of Sunday, March 28, 1993.
‘SHE WAS VERY RELIABLE’
Tragically, Annie’s mother Nancy had been due to meet up with her doting daughter on March 30 that year, just four days after the disappearance.
Nancy travelled over but her intended holiday turned into a nightmare.
Speaking in 2023, Nancy, who is in her 80s now, said: “She was funny. Yes, she was very reliable.
“She was conscientious. She wasn’t fearful. She couldn’t find fault with Ireland.
“It makes a huge difference to hear her case has been upgraded to a murder investigation.
‘A GRAVE TO VISIT’
You never know, it might prompt someone to come forward after all these years.
“As for justice or retribution, I have no interest in it at all.
“My fondest wish would just be to find out what happened to her. To be able to have a grave to visit.”
Gardai said that they will continue to keep the family of Annie fully updated in relation to the investigation and have been fully apprised of the developments.
INFORMATION APPEAL
A spokesman said: “An Garda Siochana appeals to anyone with information, no matter how small or insignificant that they might believe it to be, to contact the investigation team.
“Any information will be welcomed by the investigation team, and will be treated in the strictest confidence.
The investigation team can be contacted at Irishtown Garda Station on 01 666 9600 or anyone who wishes to provide information confidentially should contact the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.”
Annie’s family are being kept updated on the probe progress[/caption]
