DNA tests on island body of woman

29 May 2013 Last updated at 12:15 ET

DNA tests are being carried out on a body found on the Spanish island of Lanzarote where a Merseyside woman went missing in 2011.

Retired IT worker Margaret Holt, 65, of Spital, Wirral, disappeared during a hiking holiday.

Her son Ben said he had been informed by the Foreign Office that tests were under way to identify a body found in the area where she was last seen.

A Foreign Office spokesman said inquiries were ongoing.

Mr Riley, 36, of Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester, said: "I was contacted on Monday, they said they had found a body and were waiting to do DNA tests to confirm, but it's very likely to be mum.

"I will fly out there if I get confirmation to see where she died. It would be good to lay her to rest and bring her home."

Mrs Holt, an experienced hiker, left her hotel in the resort of Costa Teguise on the morning of 23 December 2011.

She was last spotted in Orzola, to the north of the island, on a coastal path later the same day.

When she failed to return, an extensive search began involving helicopters, sea rescue teams, and police dogs, as well as the island's hiking groups and hang-gliding enthusiasts.

Read more:
DNA tests on island body of woman