THE FAMILY of a woman whose body went undiscovered for 3½ years almost stumbled across her while searching for her in the days after her disappearance, an inquest heard yesterday.
The body of Bernie Gavan (59), Dunsink Drive, Finglas, Dublin, was found in March last year in undergrowth on a steep incline beside an electricity pylon in Tolka Valley Park. She was discovered by children who had been playing football nearby. No cause of death could be determined, but it is believed Ms Gavan may have had a heart attack.
Ms Gavan was reported missing from Daneswood House in Ballymun, where she had been a resident and receiving treatment for bipolar disorder, early on August 20th, 2007.
Residents of Daneswood are free to come and go but must get permission for overnight stays with family. Staff at the facility became worried when Ms Gavan failed to return on August 19th. They raised the alarm shortly after midnight, and both family and gardaí carried out searches over the following days.
Ms Gavan’s brother Frank said the family had searched the Tolka Valley Park having been told of several sightings of her on the day she was reported missing. At one point another family member almost stumbled into the same hole. “We were right beside her,” said Mr Gavan.
State pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy attended the scene but said it was not possible to carry out a full postmortem because the body was in a skeletal state. Aside from some animal interference, there was no bone damage.
However, Prof Cassidy noted the position of the body when it was found and said it suggested that Ms Gavan made no attempt to extricate herself from the situation. She had had a history of heart problems, she said, and may have had a cardiac arrest from the shock of falling down the slope.
Ms Gavan’s sister, Ann O’Hanlon, told the court that it was a relief to the family to know that she was not lying there for a long period trying to get out.
Coroner Dr Brian Farrell was forced to adjourn the inquest when the family raised issues relating to when they were notified by Daneswood House and gardaí that Ms Gavan had gone missing.
The issues raised needed to be heard before a jury, he said, but it had not been possible to secure a jury for yesterday’s hearing.
The inquest was adjourned to June 15th.