Body at Portarlington house believed to be missing woman

A body was discovered at the home of a missing woman in Portarlington, Co Laois, yesterday evening.

The remains are believed to be those of Carmel Tynan (54), who was last seen near her home at Patricks Avenue on Sunday.

A major search involving gardaí and over a hundred volunteers had been taking place in the town for the popular married mother- of-three in recent days.

The body was found behind clothing in a walk-in wardrobe.

While gardaí are keeping an open mind, it is understood an initial investigation has not indicated foul play. Yesterday evening, a senior garda said a forensic team was carrying out an examination of the house before the remains are removed for a postmortem.

When Ms Tynan was reported missing “it was believed she had left the house, that was the information we were given,” the garda said.

The search for Mrs Tynan had been growing in scale since Monday, local councillor Eddie Fitzpatrick said. On Wednesday evening, he said, around 200 people, including the Civil Defence, had checked the banks of Derryounce lake.