Suspect held abroad over Ager river killing

A suspect is being held abroad six weeks after a woman’s body was found beside the Ager river in Dürnau, Upper Austria, ORF reported. The Wels public prosecutor’s office confirmed the detention on Monday and said it would release further details after the suspect’s extradition.

The victim was a 53-year-old woman from Laakirchen. She had been staying in the open section of the psychiatric department at Salzkammergut Klinikum Vöcklabruck, a hospital, and did not return from what the hospital operator described as a routine, planned outing. Police were then notified.

Children playing in Dürnau, a locality in Vöcklabruck, found her body on September 1. An autopsy confirmed that she had been killed and found stab wounds. Investigators believe the spot where the body was found beside the Ager was also the crime scene.

The Wels prosecutor’s office is investigating on suspicion of murder. Authorities have not released information about the suspect or the circumstances of the killing, citing investigative reasons.