Search begins for remains of British soldier killed by IRA in 1977

Investigators in Ireland began a search Monday for the remains of a British soldier killed and secretly buried by the IRA almost 50 years ago during the long-running Troubles conflict, authorities said.

Robert Nairac, a British Army captain, was abducted from a pub in County Armagh in May 1977 while working undercover and attempting to gather intelligence.

The 28-year-old soldier was taken to a nearby forest across the border with the Republic of Ireland where he was tortured and shot dead.

Nairac is one of the highest profile of the so-called Disappeared: seventeen victims of paramilitary violence during the Troubles whose bodies were buried in secret.

Four, including Nairac’s, are still missing.

Nairac’s case is “one in which we have had very little to go on,” said Jon Hill, lead investigator for the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) which is tasked with locating the Disappeared.

The first attempt to search for Nairac’s remains began on farmland adjacent to the border in Faughart, around 90 kilometres (55 miles) north of Dublin.

“We believe that we do now have sufficient credible information to warrant a search,” Hill told Irish state broadcaster RTE.

“We believe that immediately after the murder, his body was moved to an alternative location…we’re hopeful that is where we are searching now,” said Hill.

The search would “continue until we have found the remains that we are looking for or are satisfied that they are not there,” he said.