A body has been found in the River Taw near Sticklepatch in Devon – a discovery police described as a "significant development" in the search for missing 15-year-old Taylor Charlton, who vanished on May 8.
Inspector Andy Wills, speaking at a press conference in Exeter, said the find on Wednesday 24 June, prompted by a call from a member of the public, moves the investigation "a step closer to answering some really difficult questions, in particular for Taylor's loved ones."
“A body found in the River Taw brings police closer to answers in the disappearance of 15-year-old Taylor Charlton.”
"We certainly suspect that it is Taylor," Inspector Wills said. "It's one of our working hypotheses owing to the circumstances of the direction of travel when Taylor was last sighted and also the circumstances of the find yesterday. Our hypothesis is being tested in full by investigators."
The search operation had involved more than 100 officers and was described as "extremely challenging". The River Taw flows into the Bristol Channel, which has the second highest tidal range in the world, and the area near the River Torridge – a main search zone – is a highly tidal estuary with very low visibility.
"It's not a typical search environment," Inspector Wills said. Dive teams, sonar-equipped boats, and air and water-based search resources were deployed alongside land-based teams.
The inspector confirmed that an arrest made earlier in connection with Taylor's disappearance remains part of active inquiries, and that a "number of different working hypotheses" are being tested. Searches around the River Taw are continuing.
Inspector Wills praised the local community for raising awareness "far and wide across the country," noting their contribution to the search effort. The body has not yet been formally identified, but police hope forensic work in the coming days and weeks will provide the answers Taylor's family have been waiting for.