THE body of an American tourist walking the Camino de Santiago pilgrims' trail has been found after extensive searches in the province of León.
Denise Pikka Thiem, 41, a US national of Chinese descent was undertaking the world-famous and popular hike to the Galician cathedral city of Santiago de Compostela, following in the tracks of ancient pilgrims, on her own in April when she went missing in Astorga (León province).
She had been contacting friends and family every day via email and Facebook, and her last message was titled 'Hello from Astorga'.
Her family and friends became concerned when they had not heard from her for a couple of days.
The search for her barely got off the ground, but Spain's president Mariano Rajoy received a letter from US senator John McCain asking what authorities were doing about looking for Denise.
Rajoy answered the letter immediately and the search was resumed, with over 300 rescue workers combing wells and areas of subsoil, and scrutinising the Astorga area from the air.
Last night (Friday), police reported that a man had been arrested in Grandas de Salime, in the northern region of Asturias, in connection with Denise's death.
Miguel M. B., 39, led officers to a decomposed body hidden among tree branches on a piece of land he owns between Santa Catalina de Somoza and San Martín de Agostedo, in the province of León, not far from Astorgas.
Police believe the body is that of Denise, but a post-mortem will be carried out to confirm.
The search showed that the last photograph Denise uploaded onto her Facebook site of the walk, which she had been undertaking for a month, was on April 4, taken the day before, in an unidentified location.
She last used her bank card on April 1 to draw €50 out of her account, and her email to her friend from Astorga was on April 4.
Denise showed her Camino 'passport' to be stamped at the official pilgrims' hostel of San Javier, near Astorga, and the following day – Easter Sunday – had breakfast in the Café Gaudí in the village with other hikers.
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