Body found in Lanzarote thought to be of missing British walker Margaret Holt

[Janet]

The body of a woman over 60 has been found in Lanzarote, and police think it could be that of Margaret Holt, who disappeared nearly 18 months ago. The body was found in the area of Punta de Gayo, an area of steep cliffs which made its recovery difficult in a procedure which took some three hours, and the clothes seem to match those described as being worn by Margaret Holt when she disappeared. An autopsy will now take place and it is hoped that it will be able to provide a firm identification as well as a cause of death. JA

[Janet]

The Guardia Civil has confirmed that the body found the other day in Lanzarote was that of British walker Margaret Holt. They have also confirmed that her death was accidental and occurred as she tried to climb down a crag to the coast in Haría, and that there was no violence involved. The full results of the autopsy are still awaited to confirm the exact cause of death, but one hopes that the family will at least begin to be able to come to terms with the tragedy now that she has been found and can be returned to them. JA

[Nova]

Very sad.  Do we know if she was walking alone?  I'm guessing she must have been...

[Janet]

Yes, that's confirmed by several people who saw her on the day in question, and the area where to look was known because she'd said where she was going. The question is, given that the area was swarming in a search when she first disappeared, why the hell wasn't she found?!

[Perikles]

The question is, given that the area was swarming in a search when she first disappeared, why the hell wasn't she found?!

I've been stuck in terrain like this, walking alone. Only when you do it do you realize that most of the terrain is totally invisible from elsewhere. There are nooks and crannies covered with bushes and undergrowth which you can fall into and which could hide a body. It could remain invisible until you actually tripped over it.

Quite honestly, I can't really blame a search team even when they knew roughly where she went walking. I suspect that few or none had the kind of climbing gear needed to search every corner safely.