Gardaí in Dublin and airport officials are investigating the possibility that a woman apparently suffering from severe amnesia arrived in Dublin via a flight from New York's JFK airport last weekend.
They released a photograph of the woman yesterday in an appeal for help in determining her identity.
The woman walked into Store Street Garda station in Dublin city centre on Sunday morning without any identification. She is said to be in her 30s and was carrying a Chihuahua dog, but she told officers she knew no personal details about herself.
Described as slim, 5ft 10in tall with brown collar-length hair and hazel eyes, she speaks with an American or Canadian accent and is also able to speak French. She was dressed in a black skirt and top, a black trench coat, leopard print shoes and a multi-coloured headscarf, and was carrying Mexican and Argentinian currency on her person.
She has three tattoos, gardaí said. Two markings of Arabic-style writing decorate her left upper arm and the back of her neck, while the third is a Celtic style design on the back of one of her legs.
The woman was taken to hospital, where she remains, after being interviewed by officers, but appeared in good health apart from the memory loss, according to gardaí. A Garda spokesman said several calls were received with regard to the woman, but none have advanced the case.
"One lead seemed particularly promising, but once we produced a photograph it became clear there was no match. So we're really back to square one."
Such instances of total memory loss typically resolve themselves to some degree, says Harvard University professor of psychology and memory expert Dr Daniel Schacter.
"The outcome always depends on the exact character of the memory loss, but oftentimes it has been triggered by some type of stress or traumatic event," he said.
"There's wide variability in whether and when they recover but I've seen similar cases in Boston recently that have cleared up before we even got to see them."
Anyone with information is asked to contact gardaí at Store Street station on 01 6668000.