The Disappeared: Lead investigator of commission to retire

Geoff Knupfer has been working on a number of the Disappeared cases since 2005

The lead investigator of a commission tasked with searching for the bodies of The Disappeared is to retire at the end of March.

Geoff Knupfer has worked for the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains (ICLVR) since 2005.

The Disappeared are those who were abducted, murdered and secretly buried by republicans during the Troubles.

The bodies of 13 out of the 17 Disappeared cases have been recovered to date.

The ICLVR was established in 1999 following the Good Friday Agreement.

Mr Knupfer, who has been the lead forensic scientist and investigator for the commission for the last 18 years, previously served with Greater Manchester Police for 30 years.

In the 1980s he helped to lead the search for the bodies of the victims of the Moors murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.

'Plight of the families'

Mr Knupfer said it was "an honour" to be so closely involved in the ICLVR's "humanitarian venture".

"The successes that we have had are down to the skill and determination of first class investigators together with excellent forensic archaeologists and contractors.

"Everyone who works on these cases in whatever role is acutely aware of the plight of the families."

• Timeline: The Disappeared

• New 'Disappeared' case opens on Troubles-era murder

Mr Knupfer added he is confident the ICLVR will continue its work by doing "everything possible to bring a resolution" to its four outstanding cases.

He will be succeeded by the commission's current senior investigator, Jon Hill.

Mr Hill said it has been "a real privilege to work with Geoff over the years".

"His pioneering vision and leadership transformed the ICLVR and I look forward to building on that to take on the challenges that lie ahead."

Despite extensive and painstaking searches, the bodies have never been found of four out of 17 people listed by the commission

Who were the Disappeared?

• The Disappeared are those who were abducted, murdered and secretly buried by republicans during the Troubles

• The majority of the murders took place in the 1970s, with victims abducted in Northern Ireland and mostly killed and buried at locations in the Republic of Ireland

• The Provisional IRA has admitted responsibility for 13 of the murders and the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) one. No attribution has been given to the others

• Last February, the ICLVR took on its first new case in a decade - Seamus Maguire now joins Joe Lynskey, Columba McVeigh and Army officer Robert Nairac as the four cases where bodies have yet to be found