Body of Irish woman missing 22 years may have been found in Wales

The family of an Irish woman missing for over 20 years have learned that her body may have been recovered in Wales as long ago as October 1994, eight months after she disappeared.

Pauline Finlay has been missing since March 1994 after she failed to return home from walking her dogs along Kilmuckridge beach in her native Co Wexford.

A widespread search at the time failed to turn up the body of the 49-year-old who is believed to have drowned.

The body discovered in Wales washed up on a beach near Holyhead and remains unidentified "despite extensive enquiries," according to a statement from North Wales Police.

The body is one of 17 that police in Wales are attempting to identify as part of an ongoing operation using latest DNA technology.

The operational team's belief that some of the bodies — discovered in the region over the last 48 years — may be Irish led them to contact An Garda Síochána.

DNA tests using samples from missing Irish women were carried out without match until this summer when Ms Finlay’s family provided a sample which strongly indicates the body may be hers.

This breakthrough led Welsh police to bring the case before the coroner for North West Wales Dewi Pritchard-Jones.

Mr Pritchard-Jones decided an inquest to formally identify the body will be held at a yet undecided date.

The family have asked for privacy at this time and will not make comment until the conclusion of any inquests.

It is believed they will soon travel to Wales to visit the graveyard which may contain Ms Finlay’s remains and to speak with Welsh police.

Gardaí receive thousands of reports of missing people each year, with most cases resolved within a matter of hours.

Latest figures show that 9,179 missing-person reports were investigated in 2014, with 10 outstanding cases at the end of that year.