Irish public could help solve 16-year mystery

Cold case investigators today launched an appeal in Ireland to help identify the body of a woman washed ashore in Scotland 16 years ago.

Mystery surrounds the discovery of human remains on a beach at Port Logan, Stranraer, in November 2006 with missing person reports in the UK checked without success.

Investigators now suspect the woman may have entered the water in the Dublin Bay area of Ireland, based on tidal flows, the weather and the location of where the body was found.

She is believed to have been in the water for up to six months so she may have gone missing in the spring or summer of 2006.

A series of posters, social media posts, a video and a dedicated webpage will appeal for help from the public in Ireland over the coming weeks.

The campaign, launched by the Scottish Cold Case Unit at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) and the charity Locate International, will use an updated facial reconstruction image of ‘Port Logan Woman’ produced last year.

As part of the appeal, the team have produced a list of more than 400 contacts across Ireland who will be encouraged to share details of the case.

It’s thought the woman was aged between 30 and 50, was of thin build and between 4ft 11in and 5ft 4in tall.

She was wearing size 10 black Bay Trading trousers, a white BHS size 34c bra and tan-coloured tights when she was discovered on Wednesday, November 22, 2006.

Dr Maureen Taylor, co-director of the Scottish Cold Case Unit at GCU, said: “The team have been undertaking a number of enquiries around the clothing she was wearing, a geographical profile of the location she was found, sea and air incidents and missing women from the UK and Ireland.

“Although she was found in southwest Scotland, it may be that she had lived in, spent time in, or had travelled to or from Ireland.

“Is there a friend or relative you haven’t heard from or lost contact with who may have gone missing in the spring or summer of 2006? Is there someone who used to come to your place of work or leisure activities that you no longer see?

“We hope the facial reconstruction jogs someone’s memory and adds more pieces of the puzzle as to who she might be.”

Anyone with information can email ColdCaseUnit@gcu.ac.uk or complete a form online https://bit.ly/3bQA2hD.