A previous survey, catalogued as DHS 759, documented the existence of a standing stone that once stood in the clear waters of a creek at the northern end of Trabane Bay. When archaeologists returned to verify this report during the comprehensive Archaeological Survey of County Donegal, they found no trace of the ancient marker; only sloping pastureland, ranging from rough to fair quality, being gradually eroded by a stream cutting through the landscape.

This disappearance highlights the fragile nature of Ireland's archaeological heritage, where centuries of agricultural activity, natural erosion, and environmental changes can completely erase monuments that stood for millennia. The original standing stone would have been erected during the Bronze Age, somewhere between 2500 and 500 BCE, when such monuments served as territorial markers, burial indicators, or had ritual significance for the communities that raised them. These solitary sentinels dot the Irish landscape, with Donegal alone hosting dozens of examples, though clearly not all have survived to the present day.

The Archaeological Survey of County Donegal, compiled by Brian Lacey and his team of researchers in 1983, represents one of the most comprehensive attempts to catalogue the county's field antiquities from the Mesolithic period through to the 17th century. Their work, including this note about the missing Málainn Bhig stone, serves as both a valuable record of what remains and a sobering reminder of what has been lost. The survey was later digitised and made available online in September 2008, ensuring that even vanished monuments like this one maintain their place in the historical record.