AN examination of dental records is expected to indicate if a body found in the Shannon estuary late last week is that of the missing Co Kilkenny woman, JoJo Dullard.
Ms Dullard, who disappeared in November 1995, had been hitch hiking late at night from Dublin to her home in Callan, Co Kilkenny.
If dental records are inconclusive it may be possible to extract DNA from the bone marrow of the Shannon body, and compare it with DNA from a member of Ms Dullard's immediate family.
An examination of the missing persons' files at Garda Headquarters has shown that the body more closely matches the description of JoJo Dullard than that of any other person known to be missing. The body may never be identified however, and may be of someone who was never reported missing.
The body was found about two miles from Bunratty, Co Clare. There was no clothing on the upper part. The lower half was wearing a pair of blue Wrangler jeans, waist size 32 inches, with a 29 inch inside leg measurement.
The jeans held a black leather belt, carrying the logo "Real hide, made in Ireland". The 36 inch belt featured two silver coloured studs and had no buckle.
A black training shoe, with a red design, was on one foot. The "Ascot Tyrant" trainer, size seven, was slightly worn. There were no socks. There was no jewellery either.
Initial estimates were that body, of a female, was between 5 ft 4 in and 5 ft 6 in, and may have been in the water for up to 18 months. It is not known if the body was dumped in the Shannon estuary or had drifted down river.
The head was found separately on Saturday evening. The fact that the body parts were not together when found does not necessarily give a clue to the cause of death: the corpse might have came apart as it was washed down river or around rocks in the estuary. The skull was described as "more or less intact" by a local source, indicating there were no initial signs of a head wound which caused a violent death.
While more than a thousand people are reported missing every year, most are found or make contact with their families from abroad. Generally only a handful remain unaccounted for and of concern to gardai.
The major cases of missing women still under investigation are: Ms Dullard; the American Ms Annie McCarrick, who disappeared four years ago; and Ms Fiona Pender, who went missing from Tullamore Co Offaly, last July.
Ms Pender was wearing white leggings and white runners when she went missing. She was seven months pregnant at the time, and would not have fitted the pair of jeans with a 32 inch waist found on the estuary body.
Ms McCarrick was 5 ft 8 in in height between two and four inches taller than the initial estimates for the height of the Shannon body.
She was last seen boarding a bus in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, in March 1993, when she was wearing black tights and black boots.