POLICE searching for a Hampshire woman missing for more than three weeks have found her body - in her own house.

Several land and air searches for Jean O'Sullivan, costing thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money, had proven unsuccessful.

Police twice appealed for help from the public to discover the 58-year-old's whereabouts.

Just last Sunday a team of exp0erts and helpers spent the day combing gardens and sheds near her home.

Last night they revealed that specialist search officers examining her Eastleigh house had found a woman's body in a downstairs room.

Although formal identification has not yet taken place, police say they are satisfied it is that of Mrs O'Sullivan, and that her death is not being treated as suspicious.

Neighbours in Falcon Square reacted with shock that the well-known resident could have lain undiscovered for so long. She had last been seen alive on August 22 and was reported missing a week later.

One Falcon Square resident, who asked not to be named, told the Daily Echo police had regularly visited Mrs O'Sullivan's run-down home several times during their investigation.

"The police and their search and rescue teams have been in and out of there ever since she went missing," they said.

"They've been round a few times asking us if we knew anything or had seen anything, so it doesn't make sense - how come it's taken them so long to find her?

"It's really strange that they've found her in there now after all this time, and it's a bit of a worry happening on your doorstep."

A widow who lost her husband to cancer, Mrs O'Sullivan, who worked at an Eastleigh town centre charity shop, had also lost a teenage daughter to a sudden asthma attack.

"I know she was a bit depressed because she'd told me, but she wouldn't have left her dog," added the neighbour.

"She said it was her world, because it was her only family, and she was looking forward to going back to work."

"I used to chat to her when she was coming back from the shops, but mostly she was a very private person. She was very polite but she kept herself to herself."

Cllr Peter Luffman, whose Eastleigh Borough Council ward includes Falcon Square, lives just a few doors from Mrs O'Sullivan's home.

He too was surprised police had taken so long to find her body.

"It's strange how police never found her at an earlier stage," he said. "I would have thought with the reports and the period of time that they would have gone in the house thoroughly a bit sooner.

"She was a very nice lady. She's been a resident in Falcon Square for many years, and I'm very shocked that she's passed away like this."

Supt Barry Talbot, of Hampshire Police, said: "The premises were initially searched on August 29 by two officers.

"The house contained a very large quantity of items which were stacked in layers and piles which made searching very difficult.

"But at the completion of that search Mrs O'Sullivan was not located within the property. A full range of enquiries was made with family and friends of Mrs O'Sullivan.

"It was planned to carry out further searches of the area around the property on Sunday September 16 using specialist search teams. On that day a decision was also made to carry out further searches of the property.

"When the house was searched it took specialist search officers more than half an hour to locate the body which was hidden from view.

"The family of Mrs O'Sullivan was notified that day. The police are not treating the death as suspicious and a full report will be sent to the coroner."