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Footage emerges showing Mike Gaine watching on as slurry tank installed on farm

Footage emerges showing Mike Gaine watching on as slurry tank installed on farm

Mr Gaine was reported missing from his home more than eight weeks ago.

Footage has emerged of farmer Mike Gaine watching on as work got underway on the construction of a slurry tank at his Co Kerry farm

The video posted on YouTube shows the popular farmer, accompanied by neighbours, standing to one side on a sunny day in 2016 when the concrete walls of the tank were poured.

The clip gives the first visual clue to the massive size of the tank being searched by gardai as part of the ongoing homicide investigation.

The tank is one of two around which the investigation is now centred.

Messages of condolence are being posted beneath the video on the site.

The video emerged today after a suspect in the case was released without charge.

The suspect, who is in his 50s and was known to the missing Kerry farmer, was released after the maximum detention period expired.

He was represented during questioning by solicitor Pat Mann.

“The family of Michael Gaine have been kept informed of this update and An Garda Síochána continue to support Michael's family through a Family Liaison Officer. The family have requested privacy at this time,” said a garda spokesperson.

Mr Gaine, a 56-year-old sheep farmer with land near Kenmare in Co Kerry, was reported missing from his home more than eight weeks ago.

On Saturday, partial remains were found at Mr Gaine’s farm in Carrig East and a crime scene was declared as gardaí searched for further remains.

On Sunday, the man was arrested on suspicion of Mr Gaine’s murder under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.

The search and examination of Mr Gaine’s farmland continued today, with fire services and soldiers supporting garda efforts.

The Defence Forces said members of its Engineer Specialist Search Team were assisting gardaí in Kenmare but would not comment further while the operation was ongoing.

Several personnel were seen digging lands near a barn yesterday.

Flowers, candles and notes offering condolences to the Gaine family have been left around a wooden post at the entrance to the farm, with a grey woollen cap left on top.

The search at the 56-year-old’s farm was sparked when several people involved in slurry spreading became suspicious of material left on fields.

The area involved has been designated a crime scene by gardaí.

There were emotional scenes as the remains were removed by hearse and family and friends lined the main road as the hearse made its way out the gate.

Forensic and laboratory tests on the presumed remains of Mr Gaine will now be central in determining the precise cause of death and how long the dismembered remains were in a slurry tank before being discovered.

A source stressed that they hope forensic and laboratory tests can give them a precise timeline to operate from – as detectives fear Mr Gaine died just hours after he was last seen.

The alarm was raised on March 21 when Mr Gaine’s family and friends could not contact him.

The case was upgraded to a homicide investigation on April 29, almost six weeks after he disappeared.

In an appeal issued at the time, Mr Gaine’s wife Janice and sister Noreen O’Regan urged anyone with any information on what happened to him to “give them answers”.

Such was the dismemberment of the remains recovered over the weekend and the advanced stage of decomposition that it will be several days before final reports are available to gardaí from state pathologist Dr SallyAnne Collis and forensic anthropologist Dr Laureen Buckley.

Gardaí will also consult with microbiology and chemical experts.

The remains will only be positively identified from DNA cross-sampling.