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philip cairns
Convicted paedophile Eamon Cooke may have killed 13-year-old Philip Cairns - reports
The 13-year-old schoolboy went missing in Dublin over 30 years ago.
NEW LINES OF inquiry have been opened in the case of missing schoolboy Philip Cairns.
On 23 October 1986, Philip Cairns disappeared without a trace in the Rathfarnham area of Dublin.
The 13-year-old had gone to school like any other day and returned home during his lunch break but he never returned to school.
RTÉ is reporting that it may have been convicted paedophile Eamon Cooke that killed the child at his pirate radio station in October 1986.
This is according to a statement from a woman who came forward following an appeal last month, claiming that she was with Cooke on the day that Cairns was abducted.
Before his death last week, Gardaí spoke to Cooke at a hospice in Dublin where he was receiving palliative care.
He is thought to have confirmed aspects of the statement, but refused to say where Cairns was buried.
The investigation has remained open for the past 30 years and tonight gardaí have confirmed that a member of the public came forward with new information last month.
The person gave a statement at Rathfarnham Garda Station and a number of aspects to the story were corroborated.
In a statement gardaí said, “These lines of inquiry include interviewing people and cross referencing DNA profiles with those on items recovered as part of this investigation.
“At this point in time these new lines of inquiry have not yielded positive results, however the investigation is very much active and ongoing.”
Speaking to TheJournal.ie last year, Philip’s brother Eoin said, “We believe he was abducted, we have nothing to substantiate that opinion.”
Almost a week after Philip went missing, his schoolbag was found in a laneway that links Anne Devlin Road and Anne Devlin Drive.
Philip’s geography book and two religion books were missing from the bag.
Over 400 sightings of Philip were reported after he went missing and all of them were followed up.
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