Skeletal remains have been found in north Co Dublin by gardaí investigating the disappearance of a three-year-old child.
The discovery was made during the search for Daniel Aruebose in Donabate, who is known to have lived at The Gallery apartments in the village.
Here is what we know about the case.
On Friday 29 August, gardaí were alerted to this case by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, and began an investigation.
The boy had not been seen for a number of years and gardaí were concerned that he may have died in unreported and suspicious circumstances.
Detectives suspected the child had come to harm and that his body may have been buried or disposed of.
They were told that he died of natural causes and was buried in open ground in Donabate.
The case is understood to have come to Tusla's attention after an application had been made to the Department of Social Protection for a welfare payment.
Checks were carried out and no record could be found of the child having attended school.
Department officials became concerned and contacted Tusla, as they required to do by law.
Tusla carried out its inquiries before referring the case to gardaí who set up an incident room at Swords Garda Station and appointed a senior investigating officer.
Donabate search
Over the weekend of Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 August, a residence in Donabate was technically examined.
Gardaí also spoke to a number of relatives of the child, including his parents. Some of those they contacted were not in Ireland.
On Monday 1 September, gardaí took control of an area of open ground on Portrane Road in Donabate.
A search of the site began the following day.
A garda statement said the boy was last known to have lived in The Gallery, an apartment complex in Donabate, but it had been a number of years since there has been any confirmed sighting of him.
They said they had been unable to locate the boy, identify any information on his whereabouts or evidence that he was alive.
Detectives said they believed the boy was missing, presumed dead.
They suspected that he may have come to harm, but did not know if that was accidental, intentional, violent or criminal.
They sought to establish where the child was, and if they died, needed to find their remains.
Gardaí asked anyone with information to contact them and appealed to the media to given them time and space to carry out the search operation sensitively.
Tusla dealings with boy
Tusla described the case as "very sensitive" and said that, at a difficult time, its thoughts were with the boy's family, friends and community.
The agency confirmed that it made the referral to gardaí because it had concerns about the safety and wellbeing of the child.
Tusla said that it was working closely with gardaí and, in line with normal practice, had shared all relevant information relating to the family.
On the first night of the search, the agency confirmed that it had dealings with the boy and his family five years ago.
In a statement, Tusla said that its engagement with them ended in 2020, when the child was two.
Since then, it said, no new referral or information of concern was received about the child until it referred the case to gardaí three weeks ago.
The agency added that it ceased its engagement in 2020 at the request of the family, but did not say why no further checks or contacts had been made.
Tusla confirmed that it was conducting a review of its engagement with the family and the report would be sent to the National Review Panel.
The panel, set up in 2010, investigates serious incidents, including the deaths of children in care and known to the child protection system.
On 2 September, it was reported that the boy was fostered for 18 months, and then returned to his biological family.
Tusla review of cases
Minister for Children Norma Foley asked Tusla to conduct well-being checks on cases closed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She finalised the details of this process at a meeting with the agency's Chief Executive Kate Duggan.
Ms Foley said she was "deeply concerned" about the whereabouts of the boy and that his welfare was "uppermost" in her thoughts.
Ms Duggan confirmed that there were no child protection concerns regarding the case.
The Department of Children confirmed the referral of the case to the National Review Panel.
The department defended the move, saying that it was of "critical importance" due to the NRP's independence of Tusla.
The statement came after Ombudsman for Children Dr Niall Muldoon said the NRP was a structure with no statutory power or no independent authority to publish reports.
He said it was "shocking" that a child - who was known to Tusla - could have disappeared for years and was presumed dead.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin described the case as "a complex situation" and "there sometimes tends to be a premature reaction to blame Tusla for everything".
The Irish Association of Social Workers called for a statutory review to ensure that every aspect of the circumstances leading to the child's disappearance were understood, saying it was "vital" that "lessons are learned".
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said the force was providing "every resource necessary" to the Donabate search.
Today, that operation resulted in the discovery of skeletal remains.
