A Tyrone woman, who went missing in the Republic three years ago, has been proven to have died, a High Court judge has ruled in Belfast.
Mr Justice Donnell Deeny used new legislation for the first time in Northern Ireland to declare himself satisfied that Dr Deirdre O’Flaherty drowned after going into the sea in Co Donegal.
The declaration had been sought by her husband Dr Kenneth O’Flaherty under the Presumption of Death Act 2009 brought in to clarify the law and speed up the process.
Before it came into force, the family of a missing person had to wait seven years before obtaining a declaration of death.
Dr O’Flaherty vanished on January 11th, 2009, while staying at a holiday home with her husband and their children. She was known to have suffered from depression, the court was told.