The US Embassy in the Cypriot capital confirmed on Monday that the body found on a dirt track in a remote area west of the city was that of military attache Thomas Mooney. The body was discovered lying in woods 200 metres from his car by a farmer.
Lt. Colonel Mooney, 45, who was on his second tour of duty on the island, had been missing since noon on Thursday when he left the heavily fortified embassy building to either go home or to a gym for a workout. However, a Turkish Cypriot newspaper, Kibrisli, sent speculation soaring when it reported that Mooney had been seen near the port city of Famagusta, in the Turkish occupied area, in the company of two women, one 45 and the other 28.  
Twenty-four hours after he left the embassy, officials issued an appeal for information on his whereabouts.
Mooney, who had previously served in West Asia, including Iraq, was part of a delegation that met US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when she made a brief stopover at Larnaca international airport last July. He was married with children although they are not living in Cyprus.