Gardaí in Co Clare have positively identified the skeletal remains found in a lake near Bodyke last week as those of 17-year-old Richard Kelly.
Mr. Kelly, who was known to his family and friends as 'Happy' Kelly, had been missing from his home in Southill in limerick since April 2006.
The remains were discovered on Lough Brigid by a fisherman who was out fishing on the lake. A garda underwater team recovered the remains, which were brought for technical examination by a pathologist to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.
DNA tests on the remains conducted with the assistance of Mr Kelly's family have now positively established them as those of Mr Kelly.
A Garda investigation into his disappearance has been ongoing since 23 April 2006 - he was last seen in the Dalys Cross area of Limerick on that date.
Gardaí carried out extensive searches as well as interviewing those who had last seen him which failed to establish any leads about his whereabouts or the reason for his disappearance.
The Garda investigation into his disappearance and death are now being treated as suspicious. A post mortem will be carried out on the remains to try to establish exactly how he died. The results will determine the course of the investigation.
