Gardaí: Human remains found in Dundalk are NOT of missing teenager Ciara Breen
Remains found at a house in Co Louth are not those of missing teenager Ciara Breen.
Superintendent Gerry Curley gave an update after an examination by the State Pathologist.
He said: "We're satisfied that the remains are not modern, they're historical. We have contacted the National Museum, we await instructions from the museum as to what direction we will take in relation to the matter.
"We are not looking at a modern skeletal remains."
Local TD Declan Breathnach says he hopes remains found at a house in Dundalk are those of Ciara Breen, so closure can be brought to the family.
He said: "It is very difficult to speculate at this stage, all we know is that it is a human body that has been found and I think the people of Dundalk and the surrounding area are hoping and praying that it is that of Ciara Breen.
"It is within 200 metres, as the crow flies, of her home. All the pointers seem to be in that direction, but it is far too early to speculate."
Gardaí say it is too early to tell if remains found in Louth are those of missing Ciara Breen.
The 17-year-old disappeared in February 1997.
She went missing from her home in Bachelor's walk, less than 200 metres away from where the remains were found.
A house in Dundalk remains sealed off after skeletal remains were found at the rear of a property on Mary Street North while building work was underway yesterday.
A forensic anthropologist confirmed last night that the remains are human, though it is understood at the moment they have not even been able to establish an age for the remains.
The house remains sealed off this morning and further examinations of the scene will take place today.
