Searches continue at farm where human remains were found

Searches are continuing at an Irish farm where partial human remains were found.

The discovery on Friday was made almost two months after County Kerry farmer, Michael Gaine, went missing.

Police are continuing to question a man in his 50s who was arrested on Monday on suspicion of murdering the 56 year old.

A process to formally identify the partial human remains is under way.

The ongoing search at the farm near Kenmare is being led by specialist teams.

Gardaí (Irish police) are being supported by an engineering specialist search team from the Irish Defence Forces.

Mr Gaine, a sheep and cattle farmer, was reported missing from his home on Friday 21 March.

It was initially treated as a missing persons case before being upgraded to a homicide on 29 April.

There was always a sense of foreboding after Mr Gaine vanished in March.

His disappearance was one of those times when many people got an early feeling that "something is not right" about the case.

But nothing could have prepared the farmer's family and his community for the grim discovery of partial human remains on land beside his farm almost two months after he went missing.

People who knew Mr Gaine have been left reeling by how the discovery was made last Friday during the spreading of slurry across fields.

The shock was compounded by follow-up searches for more body parts in the fields and in a slurry tank on the adjoining farm.

The gruesome developments have rocked the community and sent shockwaves around Ireland.

The country was gripped by the original disappearance of the busy and popular sheep and cattle farmer in a mountainous area close to Moll's Gap, along the world-renowned Ring of Kerry tourist route.

He was reported missing a day after he made an early morning trip to a shop in the nearby town of Kenmare.

His car was found at his farm, which is at a separate location to his home, and some of his personal items were in the car.

But there was no trace of the farmer.

That prompted an extensive search for miles around the rugged and remote terrain where he lived and worked.

Initially, hundreds of people joined police along with search and rescue teams as they combed the area trying to find Mr Gaine or any clues about his whereabouts.

Gardaí then requested the community to step back from the search to allow more space for investigators and search and rescue experts.

That prompted immediate speculation that this might ultimately turn-out to be more than a missing person case.

Towards the end of April, there was confirmation that the investigation had been upgraded to homicide.

That meant Gardaí believed Mr Gaine was dead and someone else was involved.

But there was still no breakthrough until last Friday.

A machine was being used to spread slurry on fields beside his farm when the operator was stunned to discover what appeared to be parts of human remains.

The alarm was raised, and the lands and farm were sealed off and declared a crime scene to allow for forensic searches in the fields and in a slurry tank on the farm.

It is well known that the slurry facility on the farm was searched during the early stages of Mr Gaine's disappearance.

Some people are now wondering if the search teams missed the body parts during their initial searches or if the body or partial remains were deposited there more recently.

It is a complex and challenging investigation, and it therefore likely to be some time before investigators have all the answers about what happened to Mr Gaine.