Man bailed after questioning over 1988 death of German backpacker

Suspects aged 61 and 58 were detained on Monday over Inga Maria Hauser’s murder

A man has been released on bail after questioning about the murder of a German backpacker Inga Maria Hauser in Northern Ireland 30 years ago. Photograph: PSNI/PA Wire.

A man has been released on bail after questioning about the murder of a German backpacker in Northern Ireland 30 years ago.

The body of Munich teenager Inga Maria Hauser was found dumped in a remote part of Ballypatrick Forest, outside Ballycastle, Co Antrim in April 1988 - 14 days after she was last seen alive on a ferry from Scotland.

The 18-year-old’s death remains one of the North’s most high-profile unsolved murders.

The suspect (61) was detained in the Loughguile area of Co Antrim on Monday and later released pending further inquiries. A man (58) is still being questioned.

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The arrests come weeks after a much-publicised series of appeals to mark the 30th anniversary of the murder.

Cover-up

In April, detectives said they believed a number of people may have been involved either directly in the murder or in the subsequent cover-up, and said they only needed fractional pieces of evidence to bring the chief suspects to justice.

Police have a male genetic profile found at the murder scene.

A number of years ago, in one of the largest DNA screenings ever undertaken in the UK, 2,000 samples failed to produce a definitive match.

Prior to her death, Ms Hauser had travelled through England and Scotland and, according to diary entries, intended to travel south to Dublin when she docked at Larne, Co Antrim.

But for reasons as yet unexplained, she ended up going in the opposite direction and was found dead in remote woodland two weeks later.

It is understood the IRA carried out its own investigation into the killing 30 years ago.

It is believed republican paramilitaries had considered passing information about the alleged murderer to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) at the height of the Troubles, but did not follow through. - PA