Post mortem carried out as gardai continue to investigate ferns body

Efforts are under way to identify the remains of a woman in a ditch at Ballyandrew near Ferns on Monday morning.

The body was discovered by a woman out walking her dog. A post mortem examination has been carried out by the State Pathologist Dr Linda Muldoon. She told Gardai that the exam had shown no evidence of any foul play in the woman's death and that she was around 50 years of age. There is no confirmed time frame for how long the body had been lying in the ditch. Gardai are using documents found near the body to lead their investigation as well as missing person's reports here and abroad. A DNA sample has now been taken from the remains as Gardai try to identify the woman. A leading theory is that the woman was an Italian national who may have been sleeping rough in the area over the past couple of years.