Gardaí hunt for missing tourist after wife's body found
A search was under way tonight for a Swiss tourist who went missing on Lough Reagh in Co Roscommon.
Gardaí launched a hunt for the man after his wife’s body was found in shallow water after an apparent boating tragedy.
Officers were working to identify the middle-aged woman when the couple’s empty cruiser was found adrift near Inchmore Island on Lough Reagh.
Local gardaí, residents and the force’s sub-aqua team from Athlone are searching the lake for the man, who is also believed to be in his 60s.
A sergeant in Roscommon Garda Station said: “She was discovered by two fishermen yesterday evening, she was unidentified until this morning.
“They are both Swiss nationals, they had a cruiser, which they owned, in Athlone and they went out on Sunday evening.
“The boat was found drifting with the engine running today.”
The investigation, headed by Superintendent Mark Curran of Roscommon Garda Station, has identified the couple and has contacted Interpol to trace their family.
Gardaí said it appeared the couple had some sort of boating accident as they headed northwards along the River Shannon towards Carrick-on-Shannon.
“The weather conditions on the lake were bad on Sunday. It appears they may have been victims of the weather,” a garda at Roscommon station said.
Gardaí said the couple, whose names have not yet been released, headed up the Shannon from Athlone on Sunday.
There was a small dinghy attached to the cruiser which is still missing.
“A life buoy was found near enough to the deceased yesterday, it had a name on it, that was how we traced them. We are treating it as an accident at the moment but we are investigating,” the sergeant said.
A post mortem examination will be carried out later on the Swiss woman in Roscommon County Hospital.
