Disappearance akin to abduction of Madeleine McCann

THE garda who led the search for missing schoolboy Philip Cairns 23 years ago has described the case as one of the most mysterious he has ever worked.

Retired Det Inspr Gerry O’Carroll said Philip’s disappearance prompted a public outcry on a par with that which has surrounded the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Describing whoever abducted the 13-year-old schoolboy back in 1986 as “a fiend”, Mr O’Carroll said the circumstances of the disappearance were “incredible” and the investigation became a personal quest for many of the officers working on the case.