Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has said there is no proof of IRA involvement in the death of Disappeared victim Charlie Armstrong.
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The comment came after remains believed to be those of the Crossmaglen man were found in Co Monaghan, near the Irish border, on Thursday.
Mr Armstrong was abducted south Armagh in 1981, while on his way to Mass. He was never seen again.
The IRA did not claim responsibility, but the father-of-five was always believed to be a victim of a republican murder.
"Well, there's no evidence to suggest that the IRA was involved," the Sinn Fein leader told UTV.
"It may be an issue of secondary importance - the fact is that this man was killed and his remains buried."
Mr Adams added: "Whoever did it, at least now there is the hope that the family - and particularly his widow Kathleen - will have her wish decades later to be able to bury her husband and visit a grave."
The remains have not been formally identified and it is understood the family may have to wait for up to four weeks to find out if their wait has come to an end. But Charlie Armstrong's wife Kathleen is hopeful that the family will get the news they have long been waiting for.
Speaking about her husband's disappearance, she told UTV: "I wouldn't wish it on anybody - worst thing that ever happened."
Mrs Armstong said of the news his remains may have been found: "I was delighted to hear it and I was very sad at the same time.
"But I hope it's all right and everything's right and we'll get him a Christian burial. What I've wanted for all these years."
In a statement on behalf of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains, the Northern Ireland Office told UTV: "The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains in its search for the body of Charlie Armstong has found human remains in Co Monaghan.
"The recovery is ongoing and the formal identification process will take some time.
"The family of Mr Armstrong and Garda Síochána and state pathologists have been informed."
Searches
Last July, forensic experts searching for Mr Armstrong's remains were handed a map which was thought could provide vital clues.
The fresh information was sent anonymously and indicated a previously unsearched area in Co Monaghan.
At the time, several locations had already been searched near Carrickmacross, not far from the border with Northern Ireland.
In total, fifteen people 'disappeared' during the Troubles.
The IRA admitted in 1999 that it murdered and buried nine of the Disappeared - Seamus Wright, Kevin McKee, Jean McConville, Columba McVeigh, Brendan Megraw, John McClory, Brian McKinney, Eamon Molloy and Danny McElhone - in secret locations.
The bodies of Mr Molloy, Mr McKinney, Mr McClory, Ms McConville and Mr McElhone have been found.
Others who vanished during the Troubles include Gerry Evans, Robert Nairac and Seamus Ruddy, who disappeared in France and whose murder was admitted by the INLA.
The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains was set up by the British and Irish Governments in 1999 and reports to the Northern Ireland Office in Belfast and the Irish Justice Department in Dublin.
On Thursday, the Republic's Justice Minister, Dermot Ahern, thanked the Commission for its work in the last number of years.
"Their work is very valuable in bringing closure for the families of the Disappeared," he said.
"It allows families the opportunity to say a final farewell by burying their loved ones with dignity and at family graveyards which they can visit and pay their respects.
"I can't comment in relation to the latest victim as gardai and the Commission will have to formally identify the individual but our thoughts are with the family at this distressing time."
© UTV News