Gardaí have today discovered skeletal remains in the car that was found off Hugh Coveney Pier in Crosshaven on Wednesday.
The submerged car was discovered by divers on May 26th and gardaí were notified. The scene was preserved as the Garda Water Unit conducted a search operation and were able to extract the car from the water the following day. The car is currently being technical examined and has been confirmed as a red Toyota, 98-C-18625.
Garda divers travelled to the scene in an effort to retrieve the vehicle. During the technical examination of the car, Gardaí discovered skeletal remains. The remains will now be transferred to Cork City morgue where an examination will be carried out and the local coroner has also been notified.
The results of the examination, and DNA analysis by Forensic Science Ireland, will hopefully assist in confirming the identity of the remains.
It has not been confirmed who the remains belong to but according to earlier reports it may be the car may belong to Barry Coughlan, 23, of Crosshaven who disappeared in May 2004.
Last seen outside the Moonduster Bar in Crosshaven between 1.30 and 2am on Saturday morning May 1st 2004, his car, a rust coloured Toyota Corolla, was parked nearby. The car was not accounted for after Barry disappeared without trace.
At the time of his disappearance, Barry was working as a fisherman. He should have been back in Castletownbere for work on May 2, 2004. His disappearance was completely out of character.
He was last seen wearing a navy hooded top with Old Navy logo on the front, blue wrangler jeans and blue runners with beige trim and the Skechers logo.
At the time of his disappearance ,he was described as being 6ft 1in tall, with black hair, blue eyes and a slim build.
