Remains in bog believed to be one of IRA ‘disappeared’ victims
The 57-year-old from Crossmaglen, south Armagh, disappeared for no apparent reason on his way to join his wife Kathleen at Mass 29 years ago. The IRA never claimed responsibility for the murder but Mr Armstrong was always believed to be a republican victim.
Yesterday afternoon, officers of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) found a skeleton in a remote boghole at Kilmurray, Co Monaghan, several hundred yards from the border. A forensic examination was ongoing last night.
State pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy is expected to attend the scene along with Garda technical experts prior to the removal of the remains today.
The scene is a short distance from the spot where the remains of two more victims of the Troubles were uncovered in 1999. The bog has been the subject of a commission probe for many years and much ofthe site, which extends over several hundred square metres, has been drained to aid search efforts.
Mr Armstrong is one of 14 men and women abducted and killed by republican paramilitaries at the height of the violence in the North. Five bodies have been recovered.
Mr Armstrong’s family have been informed.
A statement from the ICLVR said: “The recovery is ongoing and the formal identification process will take some time.”
Last night, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said if the remains were those of Mr Armstrong, it would “come as a huge relief to the family… who for almost three decades have never given up hope of finding him”.
