The search for a missing teenager has ended with the discovery of a body in a river.
Joseph Porch, aged 19, went missing on April 22 and was last captured on CCTV in the Scotswood House area of Stockton-on-Tees, near the River Tees.
Cleveland Police has officially confirmed that Joseph’s body was found in the River Tees on the morning of April 29. Positive identification has been completed.
In a statement, Joseph’s parents expressed their profound grief over the loss of their son and extended gratitude to the search and rescue teams for their dedicated efforts in locating him.
The parents stated, “We are devastated at the loss of our beautiful son. We will always cherish him and be proud of him. We want to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Cleveland Police, Northumbria Police Diving Unit, Cleveland Fire and Rescue Service, and Tees River Rescue in their relentless search.”
They added, “We appreciate the support from our family and friends during this challenging period and request privacy as we mourn the loss of our son.”
Cleveland Police indicated that the death is not considered suspicious, and preparations are underway for the coroner’s report.
The police department stated, “Tragically, the body of Joseph Porch, also known as Joey, was discovered in the River Tees in Stockton during the search for the missing 19-year-old on April 29.”
“Formal identification was completed later that day. Our thoughts are with Joseph’s loved ones during this extremely challenging time. The incident is not deemed suspicious, and a report will be submitted to the Coroner.”
Numerous individuals have expressed their condolences on social media following the news of the discovery. Messages include sentiments such as, “Thoughts and Prayers to the family, may he R.I.P.” and “So sad, my heartfelt condolences to family and friends, fly high forever young beautiful boy.”
Another comment reads, “Heartbreaking sending our Condolences to his family/friends, another young life gone too soon. RIP young man.”
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our <a data