Latest: 'Our baby girl has been recovered' - Heartbreaking message from mother of Elisha Gault

Latest: The mother of Elisha Gault has today thanked the public for their efforts in the search for her 14-year-old daughter.

Latest: 'Our baby girl has been recovered' - Heartbreaking message from mother of Elisha Gault

Update 10.55am: The mother of Elisha Gault has today thanked the public for their efforts in the search for her 14-year-old daughter.

The remains of the 14-year-old were discovered just 8km from where she was last seen alive in Carrick-on-Suir on St Patrick's Day.

In an update to a previous, widely-shared, Facebook message appealing for information on her daughter, Grainne Gault simply stated: "Our baby girl has been recovered, thank you all for your efforts in bringing her home to us, so we can now lay her to rest".

To see this post on Facebook, click here.

Update 8.47am: Community in shock as body of missing teenager Elisha Gault found

A local Councillor says the community will rally behind the family of Elisha Gault, whose body was found in the river Suir yesterday evening.

The remains of the 14-year-old were discovered just 8km from where she was last seen alive in Carrick-on-Suir on St Patrick's Day.

Sinn Féin's David Dunne says the community is in shock.

"There's a lot of sadness and shock at the discovery of Elisha Gault last night," he said.

"Our heartfelt sympathies go out to her family, her Mum and Dad, her sisters and her wider family.

"The community is there for them, and will rally behind them over these testing few days."

12.00am: Gardaí confirm body found in river is that of missing teenager Elisha Gault

Gardaí have confirmed that the body found yesterday evening is that of missing teenager Elisha Gault.

They released a statement saying: "The body of Elisha was discovered this evening the 25th March 2018 and has been taken to the mortuary in Waterford University Hospital."

They thanked all the volunteers and search agencies who helped in the search operation.

Earlier

By Conor Kane

Searchers looking for missing teenager Elisha Gault have found a body in the river Suir about eight kilometres from where she was last seen alive over a week ago.

It’s understood that the search and rescue Coast Guard helicopter was on its way back to Waterford airport from a routine operation but crew members saw a body floating in the water near Fiddown bridge some time after 6pm yesterday evening.

The Coast Guard have been involved in the search throughout the last week.

Divers went to the scene and the body was recovered from low water along the edge of the Suir, about seven or eight kilometres from Carrick-on-Suir.

Identification of the body has not been confirmed and the remains were brought by helicopter to University Hospital Waterford. It’s understood the remains are that of a female. The family of Elisha Gault have been informed of the discovery.

Fourteen-year-old Elisha Gault was last seen alive at about 10.15pm on St Patrick’s night on Dillon Bridge in Carrick-on-Suir, heading towards the Carrickbeg area on the Co Waterford side of the town.

Family and friends have made numerous appeals over the last week for information on her whereabouts, while appeals were made directly to Elisha herself to contact her family or gardaí if she was alive.

She was described as being between 5’10” and 6’ in height with blue eyes and dyed blonde hair.

Many state agencies and voluntary bodies were involved in searching the area around the Suir in and near Carrick since Sunday morning including the gardaí, civil defence, the Coast Guard, Carrick River Rescue, Waterford Marine Search and Rescue, Nenagh Search and Rescue, Mallow Search and Rescue, and others.

A family friend said tonight that he couldn’t confirm the identity of the body found but said if it is Elisha Gault, “it gives a bit of closure to the family”.

Elisha is a pupil of Comeragh College in Carrick. Her mother Grainne is originally from Belfast and the family lived for some time in Piltown, just over the Tipperary/Kilkenny border from Carrick-on-Suir, before moving to New Street in the town over a year ago.

Grainne Gault said on Friday on Facebook that the family were “broken-hearted” with no news of Elisha’s whereabouts.

“If you know of her whereabouts, tell her she isn’t in trouble, she won’t be forced to come home if she doesn’t want to, we just want to know she is safe and well and we can call off all the search efforts and myself, her daddy and her three sisters love her very much, no matter what,” she said.

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