IF the body discovered in a Newport stream is eventually revealed to be missing pensioner Marie Veronica Reynolds, it will signal a tragic end to a 17-month police investigation.

The partially submerged body discovered on Tuesday was found on private farmland in Malpas by the landowner at about 2.30pm - just half a mile from where Mrs Reynolds, known as Veronica, lived in Hollybush Avenue. She was first reported missing on August 13, 2002.

The body's discovery sparked a major police investigation and detectives remained at the scene yesterday, combing the area for clues.

It wasn't until 2.40pm yesterday that the body was finally taken from the site - driven away in a private ambulance and taken to the University of Wales Hospital, Cardiff, for examination.

Shortly afterwards journalists were allowed to view the site where the remains were found.

A white tent stood on the bank of the stream, open at the spot where the body was discovered.

And 12 search team officers and a sergeant continued to go through the thick undergrowth in the surrounding area to find any evidence linked to the body.

Inspector Paul Griffiths, of Bettws police, said they would not be working through the night because of the cold but they were back, together with scenes of crime officers, this morning.

He said it was too early to say whether the incident was being treated as suspicious.

"We are keeping an open mind as to whether it is linked with the Veronica Reynolds disappearance," he said.

It is not yet known whether the body is that of a man or a woman, but it is believed to have been in the water for some time.

The cause of death is not yet known and police are working to establish the person's identity.

The force helicopter was hovering over the scene taking photographs for much of yesterday afternoon.

The officers' movements to and from the scene were watched by residents from their windows and balconies as speculation mounted as to whether it was the body of Mrs Reynolds.

Mrs Reynold's nephew, Michael Hunt, who lives in Cardiff, did not answer his door last night. A woman at the address told the Argus they were unaware that a body had been found but declined to comment further.

Naran Devshi, the owner of the Pricedown general store on Russell Drive, said: "The body was found just down the road and I'm selling a lot more Argus copies as people want to know what's happening.

"I haven't heard any connection between Veronica Reynolds and the body, which I've heard was decomposed. One customer told me it was a young boy they found."

Another shopkeeper from a Malpas Road pharmacy, who did not wish to be named, said: "It's dreadful to think it could have been Veronica.

"She was a very quiet person and you never would have thought anything could happen to her."

And Thelma Keohan, the postmistress at the Malpas Road Post Office, said Mrs Reynolds used to be a regular customer.

She said: "She used to come in and draw her pension. I didn't know her personally, but the police came in when she disappeared. No one knows if the body is her."

Brian Perrins, a charity worker at the St Anne's Hospice shop on Malpas Road, said: "When I heard there was a body I thought of Veronica right away. She used to come into the shop occasionally."

Local resident Bill Williams, 55, said: "It's all people are talking about at the moment.

"It's a dangerous place to go at night. There was a man stabbed down there when he was running along the path and we've had other horrible things happen there."

An elderly man living nearby, who did not want to be named, said: "I walk my dog down there every morning and if the body had been there before I'm sure I would have seen it."

Father-of-three Paul Sheppard said: "My kids walk to school along the canal and it's obviously not safe. Someone could easily jump out at you with all the trees around."

And Natasha Roberts, 21, whose home overlooks the stream, said she had heard rumours the body was found in a black bag.

Christine Harris, 46, who also works at the hospice shop, said: "The discovery of the body is going to make people living on their own nervous and there are a lot of elderly people living where it was found."

Jane Sutton, a 50-year-old retail manager, said the canal path could be treacherous in the dark.

"I walk along there in the day but I wouldn't dream of doing so at night," she said. "It's too dangerous."