A search operation at an area of bog land in north County Dublin in connection with the disappearance and murder of William Maughan and Anastasija Varslavane will enter a third day tomorrow.
The scene at Ring Commons, Balrothery East will be preserved overnight after nothing of evidential value was found during a second day of searching.
At first light this morning, gardaí resumed searching the 14 acres of bog land.
Two excavators are on site and a total of three acres of the land are to be dug up.
Shrubbery was also cleared today to allow for searches of the undergrowth to be conducted.
The search is currently focused on particular sections of the bog land that have been identified by a cadaver dog.
A dig of one area will resume in the morning before a more broadened search of the land will commence that is likely to take a number of days.
Earlier today, the family of William Maughan made a fresh appeal for information on what happened to their son and his girlfriend, Anna.
Speaking at the search site, William's mother Helen said she hoped that the search would give the family answers and closure.
"It's nine years now and things change. I would like [anyone with information] to just look at myself and Joe and my family and pass on any small piece of information. It mightn't mean a lot to them but it will mean a lot to us and the police. Let us have closure.
"Hopefully today is the day we get William and Anna back. I just pray to God that I will get my child today and can give him a Christian burial.
"I just hope that for any family out there that has loved ones missing, looking at us here this morning, please don't give up. You get up every day and you push forward. You don't go backwards, you go forward. And our thoughts and prayers are with all those other families, whose loved ones are missing."
Gardaí say they continue to keep the family fully updated on their investigation and William's father Joe praised their efforts when speaking to RTÉ News this afternoon.
"The last nine years, the gardaí never gave up. They're there when we need them and they're there when we don't need them, doing their own thing in the background as well.
"We are more than thankful, thankful to them, to Drew Harris and his team trying to help us and other people in the same boat as ourselves."
William Maughan and Anna Varslavane were first reported missing in 2015 and the search launched yesterday forms part of a long-running investigation that was upgraded to a murder case in 2016.
The couple, who had been together since 2014, had lived in a caravan in Gormanston, Co Meath, about a ten-minute drive from the search site.
They were planning to move in with Mr Maughan's parents in Tallaght at the time of their disappearance.
When William's mother, Helen turned up to collect her son and Anna in Gormanston on Tuesday, 14 April 2015 and bring them to Tallaght and they were not there, she became worried and reported them missing.
An extensive missing persons investigation was subsequently launched and then, in September 2016, the case was upgraded to a murder investigation.
To date, seven people have been arrested in connection with the couple's disappearance.
However, no one has faced criminal charges in relation to the case.
The investigation is being led by a senior investigation officer based out of an incident room at Ashbourne Garda Station.
The search team includes members of the Meath Divisional Search Unit and Garda Technical Bureau.
Gardaí have said that they hope with the passage of time, people will now be in a position to come forward with new information.
They are asking anyone with any information, no matter how small or insignificant they might believe it to be, to contact Ashbourne Garda Station on 01 801 0600, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111 or any garda station.
A garda spokesperson has said any information will be treated with the strictest confidence and investigations remain ongoing.
