Gardaí led to woman's body by tip-off

An anonymous caller led gardaí to the area where a young woman was found dead in Co Kildare, it was revealed tonight.

The man, who top gardaí have appealed to contact them again, could be a crucial witness in tracing the final movements of Lynette McKeown, 19.

A source tonight said that the male caller gave details of the general location where the body was eventually found on Saturday afternoon.

The man called the garda confidential phoneline on Thursday and said a body could be found “along the road between Naas and Blessington” before hanging up.

Officers who took the brief call at the Central Control section of Harcourt Square Garda Station passed on the information to local gardaí who began searching the nine-mile R410 regional road between Naas and Blessington.

Gardaí believe the man was prompted to make the call on Thursday afternoon after Lynette’s mother, Carol, earlier made an emotional plea on RTE radio for her daughter to get in touch.

It was Saturday afternoon before the decomposed body of the Dublin mother was found in a disused shed along a side road by a local farmer.

Tonight up to 50 garda officers – working from separate incident rooms in Naas and Tallaght – were investigating the death.

A post mortem examination failed to establish the cause of death and tests are continuing.

Gardai are still treating the death as suspicious but have not yet described the investigation as a murder inquiry.

The operation is led by Chief Superintendent Sean Feeley of Naas Garda Station who appealed tonight for the mystery male caller to contact gardaí in confidence again.

“We believe he has information which is vital to the investigation team,” Mr Feeley said.

Lynette went missing from her home in Birchwood Heights, Tallaght on Friday, August 13 and there were reports of her being spotted later that night in Dublin’s Benburb Street area where prostitutes frequent.

Local Labour TD Jack Wall said the local community in Eadestown where the body was found were very shocked by the incident and he passed on their sympathies to the family of the dead woman.

He added: “It’s a quiet, rural area and I know that local people who saw any suspicious activity will help gardaí as much as they can in the investigation.

“Tragic incidents like this are not normally visited upon the area but when they are, they leave a lasting impact.”