Gardaí were last night attempting to determine whether a body taken from the sea on Wednesday afternoon is that of 26-year-old Mayo woman Kathleen Davitt who has been missing for more than a week.
The Garda Press Office confirmed that the body of a woman was located yesterday afternoon on the shoreline between Oranmore and Roscam. Gardaí said in a statement they “believe that the body is that of Kathleen Davitt”, however no further information was available at time of going to press.
Gardaí and a number of volunteers have been involved in on-going searches of the city and coastline areas and have been continuing their appeal for witnesses since Ms Davitt’s disappearance on December 7 last. Ms Davitt, originally from Louisburgh, Co Mayo, but who resides in the Monivea Road area of Galway city was last seen at approximately 8pm on Quay Street, Galway. There were fears that she may have made her way close to the Salmon Weir Bridge and fallen into the water.
The Garda was alerted and a full-scale search, involving Coastguard search and rescue helicopters and the Galway Lifeboat, was initiated. As news of the disappearance spread a number of volunteers as well as family members joined in on the search.
Speaking ahead of the discovery of the body, a spokesperson for Galway Garda Station told the Advertiser that the search for Ms Davitt was “ongoing”. The spokesperson added that searches have taken place along coastal areas, from Oranmore to Blackrock in Salthill.
An appeal for witnesses was re-issued yesterday with Ms Davitt described as 5’9” tall, with black hair, dark green eyes, and glasses. When last seen she was wearing dark jeans and a black jacket. Anyone with information is asked to contact Galway Garda Station 091 538000, the Garda Confidential Line 1-800-666-111, or any Garda station.
