Gardai hunt for boy's body in backpack

Tot 'wrapped in blanket and given his favourite toy' | Suitcase with clothes & photo seized at mum's flat

- BY NICOLA DONNELLY

THE little boy missing and presumed dead in north Dublin was changed from his pyjamas into his day clothes after he died and secretly buried with his favourite teddy bear, we can exclusively reveal.

It's understood gardai were also told the body of the boy was wrapped in a blanket and placed in a rucksack and carried to his secret burial place on marshy lands along the Portrane Road in Donabate.

It is also understood that a suitcase, which is believed to have contained the little boy's clothes and toys, was seized by gardai from the apartment in Donabate where the child's mother continues to live.

A photograph of the little boy which is understood to have been hidden in the apartment was also recovered by gardai following a search of the property.

It is now over a week since it was discovered that the little boy who was around three years of age when he was last seen alive in 2021 is no longer alive and has been secretly buried. He would be around seven years old now.

Searches continue this week on the stretch of marshy lands that has been sealed off as dozens of officers scour the area of land, which is around 4km from the apartment block where the child was last seen alive.

The mother who was born in Africa but has lived in Ireland since she was a child continues to main tain the child passed away in his sleep from natural causes.

Earlier, we revealed how the little boy was kept in the apartment for 24 hours following his death.