Gardaí have confirmed that remains found on Bray Head in Co Wicklow three days ago are those of missing woman Maura Reynolds.
Ms Reynolds, a 78-year-old Alzheimer's sufferer, disappeared from the Tara Care Centre in Bray on Christmas night in 2005.
Her body was discovered in dense undergrowth at Bray head by a local resident working on a hedgerow on Tuesday afternoon.
The headland is less than half a mile from the nursing home on Putland Road where she was last seen. Members of Ms Reynolds's family visited the scene on Wednesday before the remains were taken for a postmortem.
Ms Reynolds's dental records were cross-checked against the remains to formally identify the body. A Garda spokesman said a further examination of the remains did not indicate any signs of physical trauma.
He also said an investigation file was being prepared for the Dublin City Coroner, who will carry out an inquest into the death.
Ms Reynolds has been missing and presumed dead since she left the nursing home on Christmas night 2005, some time after she had returned from a family gathering. Her absence was not noticed until the next morning.
Originally from Donegal, Ms Reynolds had been a resident at the nursing home for 18 months before her disappearance.
