Salta victim 'may have been strangled,' forensics say

Forensic officials trying to identify the body of the woman found near Cafayate, Salta, believe she was strangled to death after they found a shoelace from one of her shoes tied around her neck.

They have also confirmed that so far they have not been able to identify any signs of violence or that she was raped. 

The have not ruled out, however, that the body could belong to María Cash, who remains missing since last July 8, when she last called her family from the Argentine northwest region. 

In the meantime, genetic samples from the body – including a femur, fingernails, skull bones and hair - where all sent in an emergency plane from Salta to Buenos Aires so they could be crosschecked with samples from the Cash family.

Authorities have determined that the victim had blond hair, measured close to 1.70 and had near perfect teeth (they found she had only had dental work performed on one of her teeth). 

The body was found on national route 68, some 15 kilometres away from downtown Calchaquí.

The victim was wearing trousers, a t-shirt and one she, and she was discovered by two farm workers near a vineyard. A few metres away, they also discovered her underwear and some decoration items.