GARDAÍ investigating the discovery of a man’s body in the River Shannon near Limerick city on Friday are awaiting the results of toxicology tests, which they say will determine the nature of their investigations.
The body of Francis Green (48) who had been missing since last November was discovered by a farmer at Portrine, Co Clare at around 3.30pm on Friday.
The discovery was made just a week after gardaí investigating the disappearance of Mr Green had asked farmers with lands along the River Shannon to check their property.
A postmortem was conducted on the body of Mr Green at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise at the weekend – the results of which gardaí have said have not been released for operational reasons.
Mr Green, who was originally from Kilteely in Co Limerick, was last seen near his home at Hartstonge in Limerick city centre during the evening of November 28th last.
He had been living at the apartment for some time, and a major investigation has been ongoing since his disappearance.
Prior to the discovery of his body, gardaí had publicly expressed concerns for his safety as they believed he may have been abducted from his home on the night he disappeared.
In the weeks after Mr Green was reported missing, the Shannon-based coastguard helicopter assisted in the search operation.
Garda divers also searched parts of the River Shannon in Limerick city.
House-to-house inquiries were conducted around the area where Mr Green had been living in an effort to trace his last known movements.
Last month a 27-year-old man was arrested by detectives on suspicion of falsely imprisoning the 48-year-old.
The man, who was arrested near where Mr Green had been living, was detained at Henry Street Garda station, but he was later released without charge and gardaí said a file would be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Following Friday’s discovery, a Garda spokesman confirmed: “The body has been formally identified as that of Francie Green.
“The preliminary results of a postmortem examination have been given to the investigation team and an investigation in to Mr Greene’s disappearance and death is continuing,” the Garda spokesman added.
The funeral of Francis Green will take place tomorrow morning at Kilteely Church.