Workers have discovered a female body on the Rögnitz river in the municipality of Amt Neuhaus in Lower Saxony (Lüneburg district). According to a police statement, it is a woman who has been missing for a long time. The 78-year-old came from Lübtheen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania - a good 15 kilometers from the site.

In addition to the already badly decomposed corpse, the police also found her dachshund. The dog appeared to have stayed with its owner for seven weeks but was in good health. The police handed him over to the relatives of the dead. "It is assumed that Toby fed on frogs or mice. He drank water from the river. He was full of ticks and weighed only seven kilos," said the daughter of the deceased woman of the "Bild" newspaper.

The 78-year-old went to the vet with her dog on September 8 and never returned. The police assume that she must have lost her bearings, since she had only been living in Lübtheen (near Ludwigslust) for a relatively short time. As the relatives of "Bild" said, she called the afternoon of her disappearance and said that she was "lost". However, she was unable to provide any further details about her whereabouts.

During the night the telephone contact broke off and a large search operation was initiated. 250 volunteers took part. Police also released a picture of the woman for public manhunt - but to no avail. Her remains were discovered 54 days after her disappearance.

According to "Bild", the autopsy showed that the woman must have died four or five days after her disappearance. There is still no information on the cause of death, but the forensic pathologists rule out a crime.

Sources: "Bild" / Lüneburg Police Department / Lüchow-Dannenberg / Uelzen / "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung"