Detectives investigating the disappearance and murder of Mrs Attracta Harron (65) will carry out a post-mortem on her body found in Co Tyrone last night.
The decomposed remains were found in Sion Mills, four-and-a-half miles from where the retired librarian was last seen alive close to her Strabane home on December 11th last year.
Ms Attracta Harron
The body was found buried close to a stream at Concess Road.
Mr Trevor William Hamilton appeared in court in Omagh on March 28th, charged with Mrs Harron's murder. The unemployed student (21) has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Yesterday's search was carried out by PSNI officers, who were accompanied by a search unit from the South Yorkshire Police Constabulary. Recovery dogs were used during the search.
Following the discovery, the body was removed from the scene and transferred to Forester Green Hospital in Belfast, where a post-mortem will be done today.
Strabane parish priest Fr Declan Boland said Mrs Harron's husband Michael and her children were distraught at the discovery.
He said: "They are in a state of shock and disbelief that this has happened.
"Up until the very last minute, they would have kept some degree of hope alive of a positive outcome.
"Yesterday was the final act of taking away that hope."