'Boy should be enjoying nature walks in forest...instead gardai are digging up a marsh for his body

Search for missing child reaches 10th day

- CIARA O'LOUGHLIN

WALK the other way around, my friend tells me as she points in the opposite direction of Reilly's Hill in Donabate.

"I just don't like going that way, it's very eerie," she adds.

What was once a quiet forest path used by walkers, runners and GAA players to get to nearby pitches is now filled with cars and activity.

The area is cordoned off with tape as gardai stand in front of the wooden walkway.

St Patrick's Primary School is right across from the scene. When I was a young child in that school I was happiest when we were brought outside for a nature walk in the same woods.

Our teachers would bring different apparatuses to catch bugs and pick flowers, and we would learn about all the different shrubbery in the forest.

I can still remember the giggles and joy as we were so excited to get out of the classroom.

The missing young boy, presumed dead, should be bouncing around the trees with his peers on these nature walks. But instead, gardai are searching for his body in the marshy lands.

SEALED OFF

Today marks the 10th day of searching as dozens of officers scour the stretch of land that has been sealed off.