Gardaí are investigating the discovery of a young woman's body at a remote beauty spot in Co Mayo.
The find was made by gardaí yesterday, hours after an early-morning phone call to Ballina Garda station.
Due to the difficulty of the terrain and remoteness of the area, it took officers some hours to reach the scene where the body lay at Kilgalligan, Carrowtigue, in the far northwestern corner of the county.
Gardaí last night said that the State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, had been called in for a postmortem examination which would probably go ahead this morning.
Members of the Garda Technical Bureau have also been called to the scene to carry out a detailed investigation.
Chief Supt Tony McNamara, head of the Mayo Garda division, said last night his members were satisfied as to the identity of the victim.
However, a formal identification had yet to be carried out.
It is understood the woman, who was in her 30s and was from the locality, had been camping out for some days with a male friend.
Gardaí were alerted to the fact that there was a problem when a man rang Ballina Garda station at about 5.30am yesterday.
"It took us a while to get to the scene because of the remoteness of the location," Chief Supt McNamara stated.
He added: "A man is assisting us with our inquiries. It is still too early to say what exactly happened.
"Until such time as we can establish the exact cause of death we are keeping an open mind on the matter."
It is understood there was a campfire in the vicinity of where the body was found and that the victim may have sustained burn injuries which proved fatal.
The area where the body was found has been sealed off pending the removal of the body and more detailed forensic investigation this morning.