Police in the North have confirmed that the car recovered from Newry Canal yesterday belonged to missing Armagh man, Gareth O'Connor.
The blue Volkswagen Golf was discovered following an extensive police search of the canal.
A post mortem carried out on the body of a man found in the vehicle failed to identify the remains, or confirm the cause of death.
Mr O'Connor disappeared in May 2003 and police believe he was abducted and murdered by the IRA.
At the time of his disappearance, Mr O'Connor, a 24-year-old father of two from Armagh City, had been charged with membership of the Real IRA.
He vanished after failing to report to Dundalk Garda Station as part of his bail conditions.
Police said they were keeping Mr O'Connor's family informed of developments in the investigation.
