Search continued long after body was recovered

A MASSIVE search for a 61-year-old man continued for 14 days last August in spite of the body already being recovered and in the morgue.

At an inquest in Co Clare, it emerged that the official search for Gerry Kelly of Main St, Tulla, began on August 16 — four days after his body was recovered off Doolin by the Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard.

At the inquest, his sister, Philomena, raised concerns why her brother’s remains were not positively identified when his body was recovered off Doolin on August 12.

An employee in Clare County Council’s planning department, Mr Kelly was last seen on August 9 and was reported missing by his family on August 15. The search off the Clare coast involving the Doolin unit with friends and relatives of Mr Kelly continued over two weeks until August 29.

Bulletins seeking information on Mr Kelly’s whereabouts were also placed on local radio and in newspapers.

All the while, Mr Kelly’s unidentified corpse was at the morgue at the Midwest Regional Hospital in Co Limerick.

A spokesman for the Doolin coastguard unit said yesterday that 600 man hours were used in the search amongst its 23 volunteers.

The unit recovered Mr Kelly’s body on August 12 after a brief search of the waters, but no link was made with Mr Kelly as he had yet to be reported missing and the authorities believed that the body recovered was younger and taller than Mr Kelly’s description.

A spokesman for the Doolin unit said yesterday: “The man recovered appeared to be much younger — in his 30s — and he also appeared taller than Mr Kelly.”

The autopsy determined that Mr Kelly died from injuries that were consistent with a fall.