As the families of the Disappeared completed their fifth annual silent walk, the commission set up to investigate the cases warned time is running out and information is drying up.

Molly Carr, sister of Seamus Ruddy, and Philomena McKee, sister of Kevin McKee, laid a black wreath with seven white lilies at Stormont buildings on Wednesday.

The flowers represent seven bodies that have yet to be recovered, after sixteen people in all were abducted – mostly by the IRA – during the Troubles.

Anne Morgan, whose brother Seamus Ruddy is thought to be buried in France, said she believes the silent walk is very significant for the families.

She said: “Our walk at Stormont each year is a reminder that our plight is ongoing and that every effort needs to be made to bring our loved ones home for Christian burial.”

The Disappeared victims all went missing between 1972 and 1985, and every year the families come to Stormont to bring attention to the search for their loved ones.

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Source: UTV

Annual Silent Walk to be held on Wednesday 2nd November 2011 at Stormont Gov. Buildings N. Ireland at 12 mid-day. The Families of the Disappeared and friends will walk silently from Carson’s monument and place a wreath with 7 white lilies representing the seven bodies that have not been recovered. Everyone welcome.

Two of the so-called “disappeared” had unnatural and violent deaths at the hands of a paramilitary organisation, an inquest found yesterday.

The jury at the Dublin Coroner’s Court returned verdicts of death by unlawful killing by a person or persons unknown at the inquests of Charles Armstrong and Gerard Evans.

The remains of nine of the “disappeared” have been recovered in searches by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains (ICLVR).

But the remains of a further seven victims have not been found, the ICLVR’s Geoffrey Knupfer said.

The daughter of Mr Armstrong last night appealed for anyone with information to come forward and help other families who, “still haven’t got that peace of mind”.

Speaking outside the court, Anna McShane said she was glad the inquest was over and that it had brought closure. Click here to read more.

Source: The Belfast Telegraph

A body exhumed during a search in June for one of those murdered and secretly buried by the IRA is not one of the Disappeared, DNA results have shown.

The remains were taken from a graveyard in Scotstown in County Monaghan.

The Commission for the Location of Victims said nothing suspicious was found.

Previous digs in the search for 17-year-old Columba McVeigh, from Donaghmore, County Tyrone, have taken place nearby.

Mr McVeigh was abducted and murdered by the IRA in 1975.

The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains (ICLVR) said: “Nothing suspicious or that requires further Garda or ICLVR investigation was discovered during the exhumation or subsequent forensic examination.

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Source: bbc.co.uk

Today (Monday) marks 26 years to the day since Newry man Seamus Ruddy went missing in France. One of the Disappeared, it is believed Mr Ruddy, who was 32 at the time, was
killed by members of the INLA.

Despite two searches in a forest at Point de l’Arche, near Rouen, Seamus’s body has never been found. Ahead of his anniversary, his family have renewed their plea for more information that may help them recover his remains.

Seamus’s sister Anne Morgan, told The Examiner that despite the passing of time, the hope of finding their brother has not diminished.

“As time goes on we have to just wait and hope that someone will give us information.”
She says the family treads very carefully in its appeal for information and says there’s “a very fine line” between petitioning to and causing friction with members of Seamus’s past.

“We know we walk a fine line but if they want to talk to us and give us information then they can do that confidentially and in privacy.  We can then convey that on to the Independent Commission and hope that they will react and maybe carry out another search,” she said.

“At the moment we are waiting on word from one of Seamus’s past associates.  We are just hoping from day to day that he will get back to me and that he will have uncovered something new with regard to the search.”

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Source: Crossmaglen Examiner

Hundreds of people have attended the funeral in Crossmaglen of Gerry Evans, one of the “Disappeared”.

Mr Evans’ remains were found seven weeks ago in County Louth, 31 years after he went missing.

He was 24 years old when he was last seen, hitch-hiking in Castleblayney, County Monaghan. It is thought he was kidnapped and murdered by the IRA.

Cardinal Sean Brady told the requiem mass that Mr Evans had been “brutally taken away”.

He said there was great anger that people had taken it upon themselves “to play God” – acting as Mr Evans’ “judge, jury, executioner and undertaker”.

Members of Mr Evans’ family carried his coffin to St Patrick’s Church on Saturday as his mother walked behind.

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Source: bbc.co.uk

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Human remains have been found during the search for one of the “Disappeared”, Peter Wilson.

The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains confirmed that the remains were found at a site in Waterfoot, County Antrim.

A spokesperson said the recovery was ongoing and the formal identification process would take some time.

Peter Wilson was 21 when he went missing from his home in the Falls Road area of west Belfast in 1973.

He is believed to have been abducted and murdered by the IRA.

The commission has overseen the discovery of seven bodies and numerous searches since it was set up in 1999 to locate those murdered and buried in secret graves by republican paramilitaries during the troubles.

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Source: bbc.co.uk

The organisation responsible for finding the remains of the “disappeared” has announced details of a search for a man believed murdered and secretly buried by the IRA in 1973.

Peter Wilson was 21 when he went missing from his home in the Falls Road area of west Belfast.

Archaeologists and other experts are now examining a beach at Waterfoot in the Glens of Antrim.

It is the first time such a search has been undertaken in NI.

The investigation by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains (ICLVR) was launched following a tip-off.

The commission’s senior investigator Geoff Knupfer said the launch of the search at Red Bay beach on Tuesday was “a great step forward” for the family.

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Source: bbc.co.uk