Two men have been arrested by detectives investigating the murder of a German backpacker 30 years ago.

The body of Inga Maria Hauser was found dumped in a remote part of Ballypatrick Forest, outside Ballycastle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

The teenager, from Munich, was last seen alive 14 days earlier on a ferry from Scotland.

The 18-year-old's death in April 1988 remains one of the region's most high-profile unsolved murders.

Two suspects are currently being quizzed by detectives over the death of Inga Maria Hauser (pictured) in April 1988

The two suspects, aged 58 and 61, were held in the Loughguile area of Co Antrim early on this morning. They are being questioned by detectives.

The arrests come weeks after a much-publicised series of appeals to mark the 30th anniversary of the murder.

In April, detectives said they believed a number of people may have been involved either directly in the murder or in the subsequent cover-up, and said they only need fractional pieces of evidence to bring the chief suspects to justice.

Police have a male genetic profile found at the murder scene.

A view of the scene in 1988 in Ballypatrick Forest in Co Antrim where the body of the 18-year-old was found

Police have a male genetic profile found at the murder scene in Ballypatrick Forest (pictured)

Ms Hauser had intended to travel south to Dublin after arriving in Northern Ireland, but for reasons as yet unexplained, she went in the opposite direction and was found dead in the remote woodland two weeks later

A number of years ago, in one of the largest DNA screenings ever undertaken in the UK, 2,000 samples failed to produce a definitive match.

Prior to her death, Ms Hauser had travelled through England and Scotland and, according to diary entries, intended to travel south to Dublin when she docked at Larne, Co Antrim.

But for reasons as yet unexplained, she ended up going in the opposite direction and was found dead in remote woodland two weeks later.

It is understood the IRA carried out its own investigation into the killing 30 years ago.

It is believed republican paramilitaries had considered passing information about the alleged murderer to the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) at the height of the Troubles, but did not follow through.

The ferry terminal in Larne Harbour Co Antrim, where the teenager arrived in April 1988 from Scotland, two weeks before her body was found

After Monday's arrests, the officer leading the investigation, Police Service of Northern Ireland Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray, renewed his appeal for information.

'If there are any witnesses still out there with any further information which might help police then I would ask them to come forward now and speak to detectives,' he said.

'Even if there are people who know what happened but have stayed silent out of friendship or family loyalty, it is still not too late to come forward and tell us what you know.

'Failure to do so can be a criminal offence in itself and surely it would be better to come to police and discuss what happened rather than take the risk we will come to you.'

The two men are being questioned by detectives.