Body found in Bray linked to missing pensioner

Detectives are investigating whether a body found today on a rugged headland was that of an elderly woman who went missing from a nearby nursing home two years ago.

Alzheimer’s sufferer Maura Reynolds, 78, vanished from the Tara Care Centre in Bray, Co Wicklow, on Christmas night in 2005 and hasn’t been seen since.

Gardaí suspect that human remains discovered at nearby Bray Head at around 4pm this afternoon may be those of Ms Reynolds but insisted tonight it was too early to tell.

The scene, at a remote ravine on the side of the headland overlooking the Irish Sea, has been sealed off.

Det Inspector Frank Keenaghan, of Bray Garda Station, said work would begin at first light tomorrow to identify the body.

“We won’t be removing the remains until tomorrow when the services of the Garda Technical Bureau and (Deputy State Pathologist) Dr Michael Curtis will be called in,” he added. The remains were discovered by a man who was working at the back of a house near the foot of Bray Head.

Ms Reynolds, who was also suffering from cancer, went missing from the care home on Putland Road after returning from a family gathering on Christmas Day.

Massive searches around Bray seafront were scaled down almost a month after the disappearance and the elderly pensioner was presumed dead.

The owners of the care home, Paul and Anne Costello, were fined €2000 at Bray District Court in January this year after pleading guilty to failing to ensure residents’ welfare and wellbeing.

Senator Deirdre de Burca said the discovery of the body has come as a shock to Bray.

“Obviously it’s too early to speculate at this stage who it might be, but if it is (Ms Reynolds) it might bring some closure to a sad and painful situation for the family,” she said.

“But it’s really too early to speculate at this stage.”

She added: “It is a shock for any town when a body is found in these circumstances.”

Ms Reynolds was originally from Donegal, but lived in Sandyford, Co Dublin, before moving into the nursing home 18 months before her disappearance.