A search for the remains of Seamus Maguire has started at a field in Derryclone, County Antrim.

Maguire, who was 29 when he disappeared in 1976, is one of four individuals still missing from the group known as the Disappeared. Investigators from the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains have mapped the two-acre site into 20-metre grids and will remove topsoil under archaeological supervision.

The Commission took on the case in 2022 after receiving information from the Police Service of Northern Ireland. It is believed republican paramilitaries were responsible, though the specific group remains unidentified. The search area is described as more stable ground than previous sites such as Bragan Bog.

Eamonn Henry, lead investigator for the ICLVR, said the Commission will remain on site until remains are found or investigators are satisfied Maguire is not there. He appealed for anyone with further information to contact the Commission, noting that not all details needed to locate the burial site have yet been received.

Maguire's family stated that he was their much-loved eldest brother and expressed hope that his remains can be recovered and buried with his parents in St Patrick's graveyard, Aghagallon. They appealed for privacy during the search.

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said his thoughts were with the Maguire family and thanked the Commission for its work. He also urged anyone with information on the remaining Disappeared cases to come forward.

The four still missing are Seamus Maguire, Columba McVeigh, Joe Lynskey and Robert Nairac.