Witness links paedophile Cooke with missing boy

A witness has come forward to An Garda Síochána, linking the disappearance in 1986 of Dublin schoolboy Philip Cairns, aged 13, with the recently deceased convicted paedophile Eamon Cooke, but gardaí say this has not yet led to positive results.

“As part of the ongoing investigation into the case of Philip Cairns, missing person, in 1986, a 25-year appeal was circulated in 2011,” a Garda spokesperson told the Irish Examiner.

“As a result of this appeal, a member of the public came forward and in May of this year gave a statement to the investigating gardaí at Rathfarnham Garda Station.