MYSTERY surrounds the identity of a woman snorkeller whose body was fetched from the water at Phuket's Paradise Beach on Tuesday.

The body was dressed in a wetsuit, and wearing a face mask and a snorkel. Police believe the woman is European, and possibly a tourist.

Yet, 48 hours after the corpse was removed from the water, the question remains: who is she? Inquiries at Patong resorts have so far failed to produce a missing person.

Paradise Beach is a small arc of sand to the south of the main Patong township, backed by private property. The beach is accessible only by water, or along a steep, winding private road.

At Paradise Beach there is a small restaurant and a dive rental shop. It's a secluded and thoroughly delightful strip of sand, close to Patong but uncrowded and quite different in character.

The owner of the land and the restaurant, Ampean Theanthin, confirmed today to Phuketwan that the body had been fetched from the water about 5pm on Tuesday. Beyond that, he could add no information.

Khun Amphean is one of the few Phuket coastal land owners who has resisted offers to sell to people who would like to build a resort on the property.

Once sold, it would become another resort with a ''private'' beach, even though all beaches in Thailand are, in theory, open to everyone.

In the past few years, word has spread about the charms of Paradise Beach, a Phuket gem that is close to Patong, and yet so different. There's a coral reef close to the arc of sand, and a cordon of large rocks on either side, where locals enjoying the fishing.

At low tide, the beach becomes a collection of small rocks. At high tide, it's good for swimming.

Today, with two full days elapsing without the woman being identified, the mystery of the body at Phuket's Paradise Beach remains unanswered.

Khun Amhean will not welcome the attention generated by the tragedy. He prefers to keep Paradise low-key and out of the public eye, much the same as it always has been.

'' We are only open during the day because there's no electricity,'' he told Phuketwan a couple of years back.

''It's a lovely, quiet beach and it has always been this way. People can come along the road from Patong or just ask a longtail captain to take you to Paradise Beach.''