Police pursue lead in human skull discovery

Cyprus Police say human remains found in a rural area outside Paphos may belong to an elderly woman who went missing last month after her skull unearthed by dogs was a DNA match.

According to police, a human skull, found in a rural area outside Paphos between the villages of Koloni and Marathounta, belonged to 79-year-old British woman Ann Naisbitt, who had been declared missing on April 3.

Naisbitt had left her house in the morning on foot and was never seen again, prompting relatives to file a missing report later that day.

Police said the skull was identified through genetic tests, while human bones and other items, along with pieces of clothing, were also found during a search in the area.

Police spokesperson Christos Andreou told state radio on Wednesday morning that DNA tests were expected on human bones retrieved during the search, while adding that items and clothes found during the search were linked to the missing woman.

Previous reports said officials had suspected the human remains might have belonged to an individual aged between 40 and 50.

Initial reports said a local farmer noticed the skull after it was unearthed by his dogs and carried it to his property.