Death riddle appeal after body of tragic woman washes up off Scots coast

Police are appealing to the public or information to help solve the death riddle of a woman whose body was up off the coast of Scotland.

The tragic woman's remains were discovered near to Iona in September, and an investigation to uncover her identity was launched.

But officers are still unaware who the woman is, and have now made a public appeal in a bid to solve the mystery.

The probe has seen officers carry out forensic analysis, both locally and across the United Kingdom and in Europe.

Her death is being treated as unexplained and is not believed to be suspicious, and she is described as being white.

Officers believe she was aged between 45-60, was of medium build, and was around 6ft tall.

She had no tattoos or obvious scarring from previous medical procedures.

When her body was recovered, she was wearing black walking style trousers and size 8.5 Meindl brand walking boots. Evidence suggests that she had been in the water for approximately four to six weeks.

Inspector Roddy MacNeill said: “This is a tragic situation and despite a substantial effort by officers, we unfortunately still don’t have an identity.

“We are doing all we can to establish who this woman is in order to inform her next of kin. We know this may be someone’s loved one who could me missing their mum, daughter or sister.

“If anyone has information, no mater how insignificant it may seem, please get in touch with us.”

If you have any information which could assist, please contact Police Scotland on 101 quoting incident number 1564 of 23 September, 2025.