Update: Police Identify Woman’s Body Found on Royal Grounds

LONDON (The Blaze/AP) — Earlier this month, we reported that dog walker strolling on Queen Elizabeth’s Sandringham Estate stumbled upon the remains of a woman, which launched a murder investigation. British detectives identified the remains Sunday as belonging to a 17-year-old missing girl.

Latvian Alisa Dmitrijeva (Photo via Daily Mail)

Forensic tests identified the decomposed body as that of Latvian Alisa Dmitrijeva, who was reported missing from her home in eastern England at the end of August, Norfolk Police said.

The body was found by a dog walker on New Year’s Day in woodland three miles (five kilometers) from the royal residence at Sandringham House.

Sandringham, in rural Norfolk, is a vast estate where Queen Elizabeth II and her family traditionally gather to celebrate the holiday season. The royal family is not implicated in the crime in any way.

Part of the nearly 31-square-mile (8,000-hectare) estate is open to the public, and the body was found at Anmer, a hamlet of several dozen people.

The Daily Mail goes on to report that Detective Chief Inspector Jes Fry and other officials have been in contact with the family who is “devastated” at the news and “wishes to grieve in private.” Fry said investigators will be looking into activity on the grounds between August and September 2011 and will be contacting those who worked on the grounds and in the area.

The Daily Mail reports that Dmitrijeva was identified by DNA analysis and that plant growth in the area where her body was found reveals that it was not placed there any earlier than August. Investigators have not yet determined a cause of death due to decomposition of the body.