Ninth 'Disappeared' victim to be buried
A man believed abducted and murdered by the IRA at the height of the Troubles will be buried following his funeral today.
Peter Wilson, 21, was kidnapped after leaving his home in west Belfast in August 1973. His remains were recovered on a beach north of the city last month.
He was the ninth so-called 'Disappeared' victim discovered and was found following a tip-off from republican sources.
Families of those killed held marches and campaigned for the bodies of their loved ones to be returned to them for burial. That prompted the Irish and British governments to order fresh investigations organised by an independent commission.
Archaeologists and other experts carried out an examination in the seaside village of Waterfoot in the Glens of Antrim and discovered Mr Wilson last month.
Following a DNA examination, the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR) confirmed his identity.
The unemployed Catholic, who had learning disabilities, left his home in the Beechmount area of west Belfast. He was never seen again. His family had to wait until searches produced the remains on November 2 this year.
Mr Wilson's family believes the IRA was responsible for the murder, although the organisation's leadership has never officially admitted the killing. The new probe by the ICLVR was triggered by a tip-off understood to have come from within the republican movement.
In a cruel twist, it has emerged that Mr Wilson's mother, brother and sisters often visited the beauty spot without ever knowing he could have been buried beneath their feet.
Fifteen men and one woman disappeared during the Troubles and their families fear they were killed by republicans.
The latest excavation is the first search undertaken in Northern Ireland and the first in a populated area.
Requiem Mass will be held for Mr Wilson at Holy Cross Catholic church in west Belfast.
