Body found in lake may be missing teenager
Gardaí yesterday contacted the mother of missing Limerick man Richard ‘Happy’ Kelly.
His uncle, Turlough McNamara said: “If they are Richard’s at least the family will be able grieve and give him a Christian burial.”
An English psychic who recently came to Limerick to meet with the missing teenager’s mother, Mary Kelly, said his body would be found in a lake in Co Clare.
When last seen alive on April 23, 2006, Richard was just 17.
There has been widespread speculation in the Southill area since his disappearance that he was abducted and murdered, having fallen foul of a criminal gang.
A Garda spokesman confirmed yesterday that a DNA sample taken from a member of the Kelly family will be compared to the DNA of the remains, which have been brought to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital. DNA samples have been taken from the remains at the hospital by deputy state pathologist Dr Michael Curtis.
Suspicion that the body in the lake had met a sinister death has been heightened with the discovery of a block and a rope in the bed of the lake near to where the remains were found.
It is believed that a Reebok tracksuit bottom was found among the skeletal remains while ‘Happy’ Kelly is believed to have been wearing another brand at the time of his disappearance.
His uncle, Mr McNamara, said: “He also had a pair the same make as the one found in the lake.”
A Garda source said his clothing could have been switched while being held captive.
Limerick gardaí recently carried out a search of a waterway near Killaloe following advice from English psychic Denis McKenzie.
During a visit to Limerick some weeks ago he asked that the waterway be searched as he felt the body of ‘Happy’ Kelly had been dumped in a lake.
Ms Kelly said that Mr McKenzie had become “tormented” when he went to the Killaloe area carrying a personal belonging of the missing teenager.
He is due to return to meet the Kelly family on December 8.
Meanwhile, Garda divers yesterday continued searching Lough Bridget, between Tulla and Bodyke.
Supt Tony Kennelly, who heads the Killaloe Garda district, said the remains appeared to have been in the water for a considerable time.
Indications are that they are of a young person.
The body parts were found when a fisherman’s netting became snagged on Wednesday.
