Foul play has been ruled out in the mysterious death of a 31-year-old woman who was found slumped in her car parked just off the Coast Road early yesterday afternoon.

Sources said there were no signs of substance abuse or self-harm on the body of Margaret Mifsud, a lawyer and mother of two.

The police suspect Dr Mifsud, of Birkirkara, may have died of natural causes but an autopsy will help establish the cause of death.

Sources said Dr Mifsud had attended the farewell party of a friend the night before. She was reported missing yesterday morning after she failed to return home.

Her body was discovered by the police during a routine patrol at about 2 p.m.

Her car, a dark blue Daihatsu Sirion, was parked between some bushes in a dirt road in Baħar Iċ-Ċagħaq in front of the sea and was clearly visible from the Coast Road. The area is known as a place where couples go at night.

Dr Mifsud was sitting in the driver’s seat of her car and was fully clothed, the sources said.

It is not clear whether she was alone in the car at the time of her death. The police are looking for her former partner, a foreigner, for questioning. Meanwhile, theyhave questioned the people present at the farewell party attended by Dr Mifsud, sources said.

Ms Mifsud, described by people who knew her as “reserved”, graduated as a lawyer seven years ago and had two daughters. A magisterial inquiry is under way.