Biebergemünd (dpa/lhe) - After a female body was found in a forest near Biebergemünd (Main-Kinzig district), investigations into the identity and cause of death are continuing. A spokesman for the Hanau public prosecutor's office said on Monday that the body had been lying in the wooded area for a long time, which was making the investigation more difficult. It is also unclear whether the woman was the victim of a violent crime. A walker found the body on New Year's Eve. The criminal police set up a working group.

According to the public prosecutor's office, it cannot currently be ruled out whether the case is connected to a woman who has been missing since the end of September 2022 and is being examined. A 70-year-old patient had not returned to a rehabilitation clinic in Bad Orb, where she was treated, after an alleged walk. After her disappearance, the police had not ruled out an accident.