THE death of a woman found in a river is still a mystery to police a week after her body was discovered.

Maria Di Fatima Carvalho De Brito was found in Astley Brook at about 11am on Friday, April 24.

The body was found under a bridge in water behind Waterside Gardens, an apartment complex in The Valley, Astley Bridge.

A post-mortem examination has failed to establish a cause of death for the 50-year-old Portuguese woman, it has emerged.

In particular, detectives want to establish how her body came to be found under a bridge, as they believe the shallow stream's current would not have been strong enough to carry her.

Her body shows no signs of injury consistent with her having fallen from the bridge, and police still say there is no evidence of third-party involvement.

But they are anxious for any witnesses who may have seen her to get in touch.

Det Insp Christopher Mossop, from Bolton North neighbourhood policing team, said: "Post-mortem results have been inconclusive and we are still trying to identify the exact cause of death.

"We are interested in how this lady has got under the bridge. Can anybody remember seeing her?

"The position of the bridge makes it difficult to access and in my view the water is not deep enough to carry her so we don't think she has fallen in further down and then drifted."

One possibility is that she climbed over some fences to access that part of the stream.

Police are also conducting house-to-house enquiries in the area.

Ms De Brito was last seen at an address close to Blackburn Road at about 9.45am on Thursday, April 23.

Police launched a search but later called it off after discovering a body in Astley Brook, which was then confirmed to be Ms De Brito.

The Portuguese woman's purse or mobile phone had been left at home, prompting police concerns.

She was wearing the same clothes — a black coat, black ballet pumps and jeans — as when reported missing when she was discovered.

Ms De Brito, who spoke little English, was last seen after she returned home from Asda in Astley Bridge on Thursday morning, where she went to buy a loaf of bread.

She was white, slim, and about 5ft tall.

Anyone with information can call police on 0161 8565761 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.