A forensic team started an excavation on Tuesday in County Antrim to locate the remains of Seamus Maguire, a 29-year-old man abducted and killed by republican paramilitaries in 1976.
The search focuses on two acres of farmland in the Derryclone townland, as reported by The Guardian.
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The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) initiated the operation after receiving credible evidence regarding the burial site.
Maguire, originally from Aghagallon, was initially thought to have vanished earlier, but investigators later determined he returned from Manchester before his murder.
The recovery agency has successfully found 13 of the 17 officially designated "disappeared" victims from the Troubles, a conflict that resulted in approximately 3,600 fatalities.
Four victims, including Maguire, Joe Lynskey, Robert Nairac, and Columba McVeigh, remain missing after a previous search for McVeigh in County Monaghan yielded no results.
"I’m not going to put a specific timeframe on the search," said Eamonn Henry, the lead investigator.
Henry noted that the Antrim terrain is more stable than previous sites, though every recovery effort presents unique difficulties.
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"If there is anyone who has any information on this case, please get it to us.
All information is treated in the strictest confidence and our sole purpose is to return the remains of a loved one to their family for a Christian burial," Henry added.
The family of the victim expressed their desire to lay him to rest alongside his deceased parents at St Patrick’s graveyard in Aghagallon.
"Our mum looked for Seamus right up until the day that she died," said Maguire’s family in a statement.
Government officials also acknowledged the ongoing trauma experienced by the relatives of the missing individuals.
"My thoughts are first and foremost with the Maguire family, who have endured so many years of anguish since the abduction and disappearance of Seamus.
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As well as the Maguire family, the families of Columba McVeigh, Joseph Lynskey and Robert Nairac still await the return of their loved ones’ remains," said Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary.
