A post-mortem examination will be carried out today by the assistant state pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, on the body of a girl found on the beach at Carraroe, Co Galway, yesterday. Gardai are treating the death as suspicious.
The 17-year-old schoolgirl is from the nearby Lettermore area, and was reported missing at 1 p.m. yesterday.
She had failed to return home on Saturday night after an evening out. Last night gardai were attempting to contact friends who were with her on Saturday.
A man out walking on the beach yesterday afternoon found the body at 3.40 p.m. and reported it to gardai.
The body was taken to the morgue in University College Hospital, Galway.
Members of the girl's family were contacted and identified her, but her name is not being released until further details, such as her date of birth, have been established and all her family have been informed.
The local Garda have preserved the scene and called in a forensic team from Dublin. They will examine the scene today.
According to local gardai little will be known about the cause of the girl's death until the post-mortem has taken place.
That is expected about midday today. The gardai are planning to hold a press conference this afternoon.