Garda has 700 lines of inquiry in Meath body case

It will be several days before the body of a woman found in the village of Donore, Co Meath is positively identified, the Garda…

It will be several days before the body of a woman found in the village of Donore, Co Meath is positively identified, the Garda said today.

Bettina: Last seen on September 25th

However it is believed it is the body of missing German tourist Ms Bettina Poeschel who was last seen in the Donore and Drogheda area on September 25th.

"We are in constant touch with Bettina's family", a Garda spokeswoman said. The family is expected to travel to Ireland in the next few days.

She said 350 statements had been taken and 700 lines of inquiry were being followed.

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The State Pathologist Dr John Harbison is continuing a post mortem on the body in Navan, Co Meath this morning. The partially clothed body was discovered on Wednesday in thick undergrowth near the village of Donore which lies between Drogheda, Co Louth and Newgrange Co Meath.

Ms Poeschel had travelled from Dublin to visit the ancient burial site but failed to make a flight home to Munich.

The spokeswoman said that 50 detective were investigating the events surrounding the discovery of the body and 30 gardaí were combing the area where it was discovered.

She added that, while the results of the post mortem were not yet available, a similar number of investigating officers was involved in the case as would be involved in a murder inquiry.

Patrick  Logue

Patrick Logue

Patrick Logue is Digital Editor of The Irish Times