The body of a woman found last week in a storage unit close to Jerusalem’s Sakhar Park is that of Ruth Abramov, 74, who went missing 17 years ago.

The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Thursday allowed her name to be released for publication.

She disappeared without a trace in December 2008. The circumstance and timing of her death remain unclear and police remain unsure if she died naturally or due to foul play.

However, following the discovery of her body last week, a suspect, 70, was arrested. He was released on Thursday morning after forensic evidence cast doubt on his guilt, the Ynet news site reported.

Gabi Tronishvili of the public defender’s office, representing the suspect, said in a statement that his client was “an elderly and innocent man who maintained his version the whole way. He made it clear from the first moment that he was the one who alerted rescue services as soon as he found the deceased, and that he did not cause her death.”

According to Ynet, it took police several days to inform her family that her body had been found.

In 2022, police asked the public for help in finding Abramov, noting at the time how long it had been since she went missing.

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