Preah Sihanouk provincial police have concluded that an American tourist found dead on the holiday island of Koh Rong in early October was murdered, local authorities said yesterday.

Kol Phally, the provincial deputy police chief, told the Post that an investigation had found the woman had been murdered and a suspect identified.

No motive or further details could be given while the suspect remained at large, he added.

“Police put a lot of effort into investigating this death and have concluded she was murdered,” he said.

Katherine Ann Grgich, a 55-year-old Californian, disappeared on September 28.

On September 30, her body was found in a forest three kilometres away from the guesthouse where she was staying with injuries to the back and front of her head, Sarath Vichea, provincial technical police head, said.

Police, who examined the body alongside US embassy officials, initially believed she may have slipped and hit her head on a rock, he added.