Missing Irish teacher found dead after freak accident saw her drown in small stream while jogging

The body of a young Irish woman reported missing from her home in France has been found after what appears to have been a freak accident.

Eimear Noonan, 21, is believed to have drowned in a small stream after falling while jogging in a public park in the town of Annonay, about 55km (35 miles) south of Lyon.

She was last seen on Wednesday afternoon (8 November).

Her body was discovered in a park near the Deûme river, a tributary of the Rhône, on Friday morning.

"She slipped and fell next to a little stream. There wasn't much water but she appears to have drowned because she was unconscious," a local official told The Irish Times.

A post-mortem completed on Monday said the results "do not cast doubt on the principle of an accidental death, but complimentary analyses will be made," the local Dauphiné Libéré newspaper reported.

Family members said Noonan had graduated from University College Cork this year with an honours degree in Irish and French, with her performing in the university orchestra as a violinist.

She had been working as an English teacher at Font Chevalier school in Annonay since September.

Her family described her as a "warm, bubbly person who had already made a wide circle of friends there through her love of music and singing".

"French authorities have now confirmed to us the heartbreaking news that our beloved Eimear died following a fall while running on Wednesday," a Facebook post by the family read.

"Eimear will be greatly missed by all who knew her, especially her parents Flan and Mary, her brothers Declan, Michael and Cathal and all her family and friends.

"We will be forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support we have received in recent days.

"We would like to thank the Irish and French authorities and the people of Annonay for the kindness and compassion they have shown us.

"We now appeal for privacy in this most difficult time as we bring Eimear home to her beloved Lough Graney and start the journey of grieving."