Gardaí are making use of the same cadaver sniffer dog who found the remains of Tina Satchwell as part of their search for Annie McCarrick this weekend.
Annie, a US citizen, was 26-years-old when she disappeared without trace from her home in Sandymount, Dublin on 26 March 1993.
The dog, called Fern, has been lent to An Garda Síochána by the PSNI and is specially trained to indicate the scent or presence of dead bodies.
She was brought over the border on Friday morning to search a home in Clondalkin, south west Dublin as part of the hunt for Annie's remains, while 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 on Friday afternoon – 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.
Gardaí continue to stress that the current residents of the house were not in any way connected with Annie, 26, or the case of her disappearance.
“Cadaver dogs are specially trained for just that,” a source said.
“Their task is to indicate the scent of death or the presence of human remains in a location.
“The dog is looking for remains, or signs that remains were once there.”
The house was sealed for a second day on Friday and gardaí said the search would continue for several days.
As well as Fern, gardaí from the Technical Bureau and officers from Irishtown station – where the probe into the murder of Annie is based - were also carrying out an invasive search of the property.
Sources say that gardaí did not expect any major developments in the coming days.
“It is a complex investigation and a slow burner,” one source said.
“This could go on for some time yet.”
The warning came as gardaí confirmed that the businessman suspect had been released without charge – and that the investigation would continue.
A Garda statement said: “Gardaí continue to investigate the disappearance and murder of Annie McCarrick in March 1993.
“The male aged in his 60s who was arrested on the morning of 12th June, 2025 and detained under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 has been released without charge.
“The searches in relation to this investigation remain ongoing and are being supported by a cadaver dog from an external agency.
“Searches will continue over the weekend. Updates will be provided as appropriate.
“Investigations ongoing.”
Thursday’s arrest was the first in the long running probe into Annie's disappearance, and comes two years after the case was upgraded from a missing person’s hunt to a full blown murder inquiry.
The suspect, who is now in his 60s, is understood to have had an infatuation with Annie.
He has been interviewed by gardaí at least twice – but as a witness and who had an alibi.
But gardaí always viewed him as a person of interest in the case and he became a suspect when the probe was upgraded to murder in March 2023 – the 30th anniversary of her disappearance.
The man knew Annie, had an obsession with her and had even stalked and assaulted her.
As well as searching for Satchwell and Annie, PSNI dog Fern was also used in the initial investigation into March’s disappearance of Kerry farmer Michael Gaine, 56.
