Denis Walsh

aziz

How in hell in 1996 when a person go missing from limerick and a month later when a body is found off the coast of Galway,nobody can put two and two together until 25 years later

I hope the family get answers from some serious questions

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/parents-told-missing-son-s-remains-were-discovered-25-years-ago-but-only-identified-last-friday-1.4479044

alchemist33

It defies belief, alright. Even before computers it surely can't have been that hard to have a registry of missing people and cross-reference with unidentified bodies. Unless the body was so mangled that DNA was the only thing they could get, which should have really been explained to the family.

lucalux

aziz wrote: »

How in hell in 1996 when a person go missing from limerick and a month later when a body is found off the coast of Galway,nobody can put two and two together until 25 years later

I hope the family get answers from some serious questions

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/parents-told-missing-son-s-remains-were-discovered-25-years-ago-but-only-identified-last-friday-1.4479044

Was it not that the newer advances in DNA have only allowed them to identify him in the past while?

Hurrache

Advances in science. Nothing more mysterious.

lucalux

“Bodily samples were taken and forwarded to the Forensic Science laboratory in an effort to identify the deceased. These samples were examined in July 2008, March 2011 and June 2017, with negative results for a match.”

“On the 5th of February 2021, gardaí in Mayorstone were notified of a positive match following advances in DNA. The remains were positively identified from reference samples from both parents as that of Mr Walsh. The family have been notified.”

Stihl waters

Would dental records not have been used, unless of course the there was too much damage, anyway I'm sure a relief of sorts for the family to have him back to bury, RIP Denis

aziz

Hurrache wrote: »

Advances in science. Nothing more mysterious.

But what state was the body in when recovered,seeing it was only four weeks.

Were there no clothing,was he badly mutilated/ decomposed

This could be a murder enquiry for all we know and now the trail is well gone cold

cannotlogin

While it doesn't bring him back, I hope his family get some solace from finally being able to bring him home and lay him to rest. I cannot imagine the anguish of not having answers down through the years. They can let him rest in peace now.

It appears that there were several checks carried out over the years so it appears that this comes down to scientific advances rather than lack of effort.

Tony EH

aziz wrote: »

But what state was the body in when recovered,seeing it was only four weeks.

Were there no clothing,was he badly mutilated/ decomposed

This could be a murder enquiry for all we know and now the trail is well gone cold

Four weeks in the sea. Stop for a second an imagine what that would do.

aziz

Tony EH wrote: »

Four weeks in the sea. Stop for a second an imagine what that would do.

I only know too well what that can do

Gregor Samsa

aziz wrote: »

I only know too well what that can do

In all fairness, we’re not privy to your personal experience, but your post seemed to suggest that “only” four weeks in the open sea wouldn’t result in much damage, which isn’t the case.

I remember talking to a family member years ago who was involved in the recovery of a body that was trapped among sea rocks for just less than a week - being battered by winter storm waves. They described it as looking like it had been “poured” between the rocks. Buckets were the main tool of recovery on that occasion.

Obviously the family are looking for answers, and hopefully they’ll get them. It’s an unusual situation for sure. But it’s reasonable to assume that the body wasn’t in a fit state for visual identification, and even the forensic methods tried over the years didn’t give a match until this last one.