Digging machinery brought into Annie McCarrick search site
Demolition experts have brought new digging machinery into the search for Annie McCarrick this morning.
A demolition company, which is assisting the Garda search on a West Dublin property, were seen driving the small vehicle into the grounds earlier today.
It is understood Gardai have excavated a large hole under an extension of the property - between the front and back garden - where they are searching for any evidence of Ms McCarrick, who vanished from Sandymount in March 1993.
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A uniformed Garda kept watch as workers brought the machinery onto the site this morning - as the search of the property now enters its third week.
Sources say Gardai are taking their time in a methodical and thorough search of what used to be a garden but now part of the property.
The current occupants of the home have no connection to the investigation and have been re housed for the duration of this ongoing search.
It comes as we today revealed our extensive interview with one of the suspects in the case - who was recently interviewed by Gardai in another country.
The man's brother was arrested on suspicion of the murder of Annie McCarrick earlier this month - and has since been released without charge.
In our exclusive interview the man's brother said he believed he too had been treated as a suspect - and insisted that they are both innocent.
'My brother and I have nothing to do with Annie's disappearance,' he told us.
He insisted to us that he has a 'watertight alibi' regarding himself - and that his brother also has nothing to do with Annie's disappearance.
'No (I was not surprised gardai came to interview me), because I've been involved in this from day one,' the man told us. "It was I that reported her missing. I was the first person who made the statement in respect of her disappearance in order that the guards might not spend time worrying or spend time investigating me.
'I said this is my alibi, this is who I was with and it was airtight - watertight. Every other tight. So I would have been one of the first to be ruled out of the investigation and I would have imagined that was the same as my brother.'
Speaking to us as gardai continue to search a house in West Dublin, the man said he did not see his brother often -during the time that Annie disappeared.
'God no I wasn't seeing him on a regular basis then. Sorry I beg your pardon, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't have seen him on a regular basis, but it would not be - I could go months without seeing him. His life and my life did not cross over,' he said.
He then went on to deny that anything he recently told gardai gave them anything new that led to the arrest of his brother - and the massive invasive search in West Dublin.
"The police are feeding you lies. The police are feeding twists. They did indeed interview me but there was nothing about my interview with them that gave them fresh evidence to go after my brother,' he said. "Bear in mind he's been a suspect for 32 years - which is fine. Why didn't he do anything in the past 32 years guard? 32 years. They can't pin anything on him. There is nothing to pin.
'They looked at some rubbish. OK that's fine, I don't have a problem with that but they looked and they looked and they looked and they couldn't come up with anything and then a new push on to make cold cases into murder cases.
'So there's a new push and all the boys want a result and by God will they get a result no matter what they do. It doesn't matter whether they get the guilty person. That's not in their brief. They want a result,' he said.
Asked about the search of the home in West Dublin, the man said gardai were wasting their time and the taxpayers money too.
Well it's outlandish to believe such a thing. I can't figure out how they could have found justification for spending the guts of E100,000 of the States money on such a fool's errand,' he said.
'It was a surprise to me and I just thought, my God , they're wasting their time. We've nothing to do with, my brother and I have nothing to do with Annie's disappearance.'
He went on to speak about his belief that he was being treated as a suspect in this case - and insisted there was 'nothing erroneous" about either of his statements to gardai 32 years ago and in recent months. 'Do you not think I'm a suspect? Did the cops not state to you that I'm a suspect as well?' he said.
'Yeah they didn't arrest me, yeah that's fine. I'm not in Ireland at the moment. It's fine they can leave me for as long as they want,' he added. He also claimed that gardai have 'nothing' on his brother - who declined to speak to us when contacted on Friday.
'Bearing in mind they did arrest him for 24 hours and they did release him without charge. They have nothing,' he said. 'There's nothing in this case. It's just totally baseless. Look at it now what have they done with their helicopters and their diggers. What have they got? Nada. Zilch.
'I know nothing about Annie's disappearance and I know nothing about her murder. Nobody can (say I do) because I'm not. Nor are you, nor is the pope in Rome, nor is President O'Higgins,' he said. 'They wasted their time,' he added, telling us that 'I've been on this case for 32 years in my head.'
Last week the man's brother, who was arrested in this case, hung up on this paper when contacted by phone - after we identified ourselves when he asked 'who's this?'
It comes as we have also learned how tragic Annie, from Long Island in New York, had told pals 'I've made a terrible mistake' shortly before she vanished.
Sources say a guilt ridden Annie wanted to confess to the girlfriend of the suspect that she had had a romantic encounter with him. We've also learned that pals have claimed the suspect was at the time known to be 'angered' that Annie had returned to Ireland from the United States - after deciding to permanently move here in January 1993.
'He was upset that she had decided to come back. He was known to be very unhappy about it,' a source said.
This week the suspect also did not respond to a text from us asking if he denied involvement in the disappearance of Ms McCarrick - who he is believed to have had a romantic entanglement with shortly before she vanished in March 1993.
The now wealthy man, who was arrested on suspicion of murder and released without charge last week, has been laying low ever since - as a massive garda search takes place on a Clondalkin home once connected to him some 32 years ago.
As revealed by us last week, the suspect is a wealthy man who had been renting out a plush country house as a holiday home - charging members of the public close to €400 a night.
We called to that address and another connected to the man this week - but no one answered the door.
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