GARDAÍ are investigating whether a known criminal may be linked to the disappearance of a Dublin bank worker 17 years ago.
Trevor Deely was 22 when he went missing in the early hours of December 8 2000 following a work Christmas party.
He was last seen in the Haddington Road area of south Dublin, shortly after stopping by his office in the Bank of Ireland Asset Management building on Wilton Terrace.
In has been reported that gardai are investigating a possible connection to a known criminal whom he may have met by chance in the Baggot Street area.
On Saturday, officers began a fresh round of searches, sealing off three acres of woodland in Chapelizod in south Dublin.
The searches, which followed fresh information, are expected to take several weeks and will involve excavations.
Gardaí are hoping they may lead to a breakthrough and the discovery of the body.
CCTV footage from the night Mr Deely went missing, released by gardaí earlier this year, showed a man in black clothing at the rear entrance to Mr Deely's office block between 3am and 3.34am, just before Mr Deely arrived.
The pair had a brief conversation before Mr Deely left through the same gates carrying an umbrella and stopped briefly to fix his jacket.
The last sighting of him is passing a Bank of Ireland ATM machine on Haddington Road at approximately 4.14am.
Detectives said yesterday's search is unrelated to the man seen in the CCTV but renewed their appeal for him to come forward.
