Silas Shayanewako's body is believed to have been at the same spot in the Kilruane area since he went missing last May.

His body was found by a local man out shooting amidst undergrowth along the railway line outside the village of Kilruane in north Tipperary on 4 November.

The Sunday Tribune had previously reported that investigating gardai in Nenagh were "very anxious" to speak to the 33-year-old in relation to an allegation of the rape of a minor from Cloughjordan.

Shayanewako went missing within less than 48 hours of the allegation being made against him, and the garda leading the investigation into the rape has said that the discovery of his body is a "tragic end to a very tragic story".

While claims have been made locally that Shayanewako may have died as a result of foul play, gardai have this weekend said that they are not treating his death as suspicious.

Inspector John Lynagh of Nenagh garda station said: "There is nothing to suggest that there was any kind of foul play involved in his death. The evidence is entirely conducive with him committing suicide. He was essentially hanging there from the time he was missing last May until he was discovered earlier this month.

"He was found by somebody out shooting in an overgrown area close to the railway track in Kilruane. It is an area of dense foliage during the summer and then as the leaves died back the area became more visible in the autumn."

Prior to the discovery of his body, Shayanewako was last seen on the morning of Friday, 26 May, in Kilruane, where he was dropped off by a work colleague who had given him a lift.

Gardai later learned that he had taken his passport with him when he went missing and they informed Interpol of his disappearance as they suspected he may have fled the country.

Shayanewako lived in Dolla near Silvermines in Tipperary for a number of years with his wife and two children before he went missing.

A local woman said: "He used to sit in the local pub drinking a few pints at the bar and he always seemed like a quiet unassuming character so everybody was shocked to hear that an allegation of rape was made against him. He was supposed to have been a very skilled craftsman and worked as a wood turner in a local artist's studio."

Gardai have confirmed that the Zimbabwean's relationship broke up some time before his disappearance and he had moved from Dolla to live with a cousin in nearby Kilruane for a short period before he went missing.

Shayanewako's family was informed immediately by gardai after the gruesome discovery of his body and his remains were repatriated back to Zimbabwe for burial after a post-mortem was carried out on his body at Nenagh General Hospital.

Lynagh said: "We have no suspicions in relation to his death and we are putting it down as a tragic outcome to an unfortunate set of circumstances. The rape investigation is now closed. We understand that he was aware that we wanted to speak to him on the morning before he went missing but we never got to speak to him."

He added, "we have found out that his estranged partner did not know why he was wanted for questioning so the whole thing is a tragic end to a very tragic story."