THE anxious wait for news of a woman missing after the Asian tsunami has ended in tragedy.
The body of Rachel Quinn, from Hartford, was last week formally identified by authorities in Thailand and brought home on Sunday.
Mrs Quinn, 34, was on holiday near Phuket with her husband Kevin when the tsunami struck. Mr Quinn grabbed a balcony rail and escaped with leg injuries, but Mrs Quinn, a former Sir John Deane's College pupil, was swept away by the wave.
The couple, who married in Hartford six years ago, moved to Hong Kong in October and were enjoying their first holiday in Asia when the disaster occurred. Before the move Mrs Quinn, a graduate, had lived and worked in London.
No date has been set for her funeral but it will be at Hartford Parish Church where the pair married.
A family statement released through Cheshire police, who have provided relatives with a family liaison officer, said: 'Rachel Quinn was found and identified in Thailand last week.'
Subject to a coroners inquest, Mrs Quinn's body is expected to be returned to Northwich this week.
The Rev Mike Smith, of Hartford Parish Church, said his prayers were with the family. He said: 'We are praying for the. I hope they find peace as they lay Rachel to rest.'
The identification ended weeks of uncertainty for Mrs Quinn's family, who had accused the authorities of prolonging their agony by not getting formal methods of identification in place quick enough.
Mr Quinn, 37, who lives in Hong Kong returned to Thailand late in January to find the authorities were no closer to identifying his wife.
He said the UK Government had failed to send on samples of his wife's fingerprints and dental records - provided immediately by the family - to the Thai authorities. The Thais could not decide how best to use the DNA samples which had also been supplied.
Speaking then, Mr Quinn said: 'I think I've accepted that Rachel is dead, but I still have to go through a grieving process. I haven't gone through yet because we haven't been able to lay her body to rest.'
