THE DEFENCE FORCES and gardaí have resumed searching this morning for a missing Portlaoise man, following the arrest of two people on suspicion of murder yesterday.

William Delaney (56) was last seen on 31 January this year, and a missing person appeal was made in mid-March in relation to his disappearance.

It’s understood that a recent tip-off from a member of the public has led gardaí to conduct searches at the Rock of Dunamase, located between Portlaoise and Stradbally.

These searches began last Tuesday and the assistance of the Defence Forces has been provided as they get under way again this morning.

A Defence Forces spokesperson told TheJournal.ie: “The personnel are drawn from the 3rd Infantry Battalion based in Kilkenny and 1 Brigade Engineers based in Collins Barracks, Cork.”

Yesterday, gardaí arrested two people – a man in his 30s and a female teenager – on suspicion of murder in relation to this missing person investigation. 

They were detained under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at Portlaoise and Tullamore garda stations. 

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