A woman found in a ditch near her home in Waltham Abbey at the weekend is believed to have drowned.
Essex Police were contacted by the ambulance service shortly after 8am on Saturday March 10 following reports that a woman's body had been found in a ditch off Daws Hill near Sewardstone. They arrived to find the body of Jan Downey.
A provisional post-mortem examination result showed the 62-year-old woman from Daws Hill in Sewardstone to have died as a result of drowning.
In a family statement, a relative said: "Jan was a loving daughter, sister, mother and grandmother who will be sadly missed by many people."
A 74-year-old man, also from the Lee Valley area, was arrested on suspicion of murder and has now been released on police bail until Thursday, April 5 pending further enquiries.
Police are treated the death as a domestic-related incident. They are keen to hear from anyone who used Daws Hill between 6:30pm Friday, March 9 and 8am Saturday, March 10.
Anyone with information in connection with this investigation is urged to contact detectives from Brentwood's Major Investigation Team on 101 or email scdappeals@essex.pnn.police.uk.
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