Gardaí are trying to establish if a body washed up on a Co Clare beach this morning is that of a missing woman.
The discovery, which was made on Fanore Beach near Ballyvaughan, is being treated as suspicious.
It comes three days after a 43-year-old local woman disappeared.
Deirdre McCarthy had been last seen after returning to her home in Ballyvaughan after a night out on Sunday night.
Family members raised the alarm when she failed to turn up for an appointment on Monday morning.
Up to 50 local people, gardaí and local search and rescue teams have been involved in a search for Deirdre McCarthy.
Gardaí sought the assistance of the Garda Technical Bureau to assist them in their investigations.
