‘We’re praying Robert will show up alive’

Sean O’Riordan

One week since his 11-year-old son disappeared from his Co Cork home, Mark Holohan said he held onto the hope he would come home safely.

“We’re beginning to feel that if it was a hit-and-run, or if somebody had murdered him, that he would be found by now,” he said.

“The simple fact is that he hasn’t been found by now. That’s what’s giving us the faith that he’s still alive. We’re hoping that he’s in a house with somebody at this stage and that he is unharmed, and we’re just praying that Robert will show up alive here.”

He thanked everybody helping with the search, which gardaí say they have no immediate plans to scale down.

Gardaí also released a new picture of Robert, which was taken during a medal presentation at Midleton GAA club the night before he disappeared.

Search teams, several equipped with slashhooks, cleared nearly a mile of ditches along the Carrigogna Road yesterday in the hunt for clues.

It was along this road, adjacent to East Cork Golf Club and half a mile from his home, that Robert’s BMX bicycle was discovered shortly after 5pm last Tuesday. It was almost three hours after he left home.

Superintendent Liam Hayes said a number of people who had played at the golf club last Tuesday still hadn’t come forward. Unfortunately, many of those who paid green fees on the day are not recorded by the club.

However, he said the overall response from the public had been excellent and detectives had received nearly 1,000 calls since the Midleton CBS student went missing.

More than 100 gardaí were deployed in the search yesterday, aided by 105 troops from Cork, Limerick, Clonmel and Kilkenny. In addition, there were 300 volunteers.

Supt Hayes said checks were also being made on sightings of eight white vans in the area, and while some of them may have been involved in legitimate deliveries, all their drivers would need to be interviewed to eliminate them from the investigation.

Gardaí are also monitoring known and suspected paedophiles. They are investigating a claim, made by a member of the security industry, that a known paedophile was seen searching in the area last Thursday. Because of last week’s inclement weather some areas previously searched were revisited yesterday. In addition, a large search was carried out in an 8km by 3km area encompassing Mogeely, Killeagh and Mount Uniake.

Chief Superintendent Kieran McGann appealed to landowners to check all outhouses and visit any land they had rented out.

“As far as we’re concerned we will search for Robert until he is found,” Supt Hayes added.

A reconstruction of the boy’s last known movements will be filmed today.