Tina cadaver dog searches 'Annie house'

GARDAI are using the same sniffer dog that found the remains of Tina Satchwell to search for those of missing Annie McCarrick, it has emerged.

- BY MICHAEL O'TOOLE Crime and Defence Editor

The spaniel, called Fern, has been lent to the Garda by the PSNI - and is specially trained to indicate the scent or presence of dead bodies.

The animal was brought over the border yesterday to search a home in Clondalkin, south west Dublin as part of the hunt for Annie. It took place as detectives continued to question a man on suspicion of the American student’s murder.

That suspect, who is a millionaire businessman, walked free from a Dublin Garda station yesterday - after officers released him without charge.

But sources say the man, who is in his 60s, is still the focus of the Garda murder investigation - and officers will continue to build a case against him.

Fern is playing a key role in the investigation — by using her special skills to examine the house in Clondalkin that was sealed off on Thursday morning, around the same time the suspect was arrested.

Gardai stressed current residents of the house were not in any way connected with Ms McCarrick, 26, or the case of her disappearance.