Found Deceased UK - Richard Okorogheye, 19, Oxford Student, Ladbroke Grove, West London, 24 Mar 2021

[MsMiniSleuth]

Jamie Roberton (@jamiemroberton) tweeted at 3:47 pm on Tue, Apr 06, 2021:

The scene in Epping Forest, Essex where a body has been found in the search for missing student Richard Okorogheye.

Police say they are still awaiting formal identification and the results of a post-mortem examination. An update is expected later today. https://t.co/bK0iU57zhJ

(https://twitter.com/jamiemroberton/status/1379445642163015680?s=03)

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

POLICE LATEST

There are no further updates from the Met Police just yet.

Their latest statement reads: "Richard’s family are being supported by specially trained officers and kept updated with developments.

"Officers remain at the scene and inquiries continue."

Richard Okorogheye latest - Body found in Epping Forest pond during student hunt

 

[Commoner]

I'm just thinking about him wearing a mask at times when he was by himself. It could show self-care, or it could be about shielding his face from the cold air but not taking a jacket out would contradict that

Or it could be that if you deliberately wanted to disappear, you would be that bit harder to pick up on CCTV footage.

A bit like choosing clothes of a colour, type and brand worn by thousands of young men? Part of making oneself as unmemorable and little recorded as possible.

Though of course that doesn't tell us why we went missing - suicide, or meeting someone for some unknown purpose with that meeting ending in murder or accident.

Or an accident on those roads, whch have inadequate pavements and lighting and along which cars travel fast; and then hit-and-run driver dumps body in nearest pond (it's close to the road) in hope of escaping prosecution.

Which still wouldn't explain why he was there, of course, assuming this is Richard

 

[JuicyLucy]

I saw this - I might be wrong but I don't think the Met would use double-cordons (the blue/white + black/yellow) as well as a vast outer cordon with lots and lots of taped-off sections for a suspected suicide.

Perhaps they're just following guidelines that a dead missing person automatically = suspicious, I don't know. But it seems like a serious crime scene investigation from that video.

JMO

Has anyone been staying on top of the detail well enough to know whether this area of the forest was just the next logical place to move on to searching, i.e. officers sweeping bit by bit in a particular direction or radius, or whether the progress/direction of the search seemed dictated by some unknown (or known) intelligence? And also, do we know whether it had been searched previously in the course of the operation?

It is not that remote a location as far as I can see. Well frequented by hikers, photographers, dog walkers among others. The idea that he went there to end his life two weeks ago and that there's been an undiscovered body there ever since just makes my eyebrows twitch a bit.

jmo

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

POLICE LATEST

There are no further updates from the Met Police just yet.

Their latest statement reads: "Richard’s family are being supported by specially trained officers and kept updated with developments.

"Officers remain at the scene and inquiries continue."

Richard Okorogheye latest - Body found in Epping Forest pond during student hunt

3 minutes ago

'EXTENSIVE SEARCHES' CONTINUE

Scotland Yard have just issued an updated statement.

Detective Superintendent Danny Gosling said "Our officers with the assistance of specialist search teams dogs and police horses and colleagues from Essex Police have been carrying out extensive searches in Epping Forest since 19-year-old Richard was last seen on CCTV in the area two weeks ago.

"The post-mortem examination will take place shortly and we're also awaiting formal identification.

"This is an extensive enquiry and we are working tirelessly to establish the full circumstances. This includes forensic, medical and specialist enquiries which all take time to complete."

 

[Commoner]

The idea that he went there to end his life two weeks ago and that there's been an undiscovered body there ever since just makes my eyebrows twitch a bit

On the assumption that it is him, then we don't know when or where (or how) he died, nor how long his body had been in the water.

The police yesterday, shortly before the announcement of the finding of the body, were still making appeals for sightings and CCTV footage. JMO that suggests there are still aspects of his movements after the last sighting that they want to understand.

We don't know, but police will, when his last hospital treatment was, or how long it would be before he started to feel unwell, or have incapacitating symptoms.

 

[Distant Observer]

I think thanks are due to Essex Police for the immense effort they have put in to try and locate RO. This included the use of a noisy police helicopter at 3am presumably with thermal imaging equipment to see if he was in the part of the forest to the south west of Loughton. My guess is RO was drawn to the Loughton area of the forest by the mysterious legend surrounding Blackweir Pond which is known by a number of names including the Lost Pond and the Hidden Pond. I think he must have done some research on the internet before making the trip. There are articles online linking the pond with access from the Central Line. I suspect the decision not to use the Central Line to go to Loughton may have been an essential part of his planning. Blackweir Pond is not easy to find even in daylight so he may have missed the right path and ended up at Wake Valley Pond. I have to say no one would travel across London with the intention of visiting Wake Valley Pond. Although I live in the area and drive past it regularly I didn't even know that pond had that name. It's all very sad but Essex Police did go the extra mile in trying to find him.

 

[infinit]

I saw this - I might be wrong but I don't think the Met would use double-cordons (the blue/white + black/yellow) as well as a vast outer cordon with lots and lots of taped-off sections for a suspected suicide.

Perhaps they're just following guidelines that a dead missing person automatically = suspicious, I don't know. But it seems like a serious crime scene investigation from that video.

JMO

I think it makes sense to treat it as a crime scene until a time where it becomes apparent it isn't. If he has been in the water since he went missing the cause of death is probably not obvious and if they didn't go through proper process and it turns out to be suspicious they've or people they've allowed in have just potentially destroyed, disturbed or invalidated evidence.

 

[Alyce]

Map showing - Smarts Lane, Blackweir Pond, Wake Valley Pond



Google Maps

 

[ApparentlyInDenial]

Has anyone been staying on top of the detail well enough to know whether this area of the forest was just the next logical place to move on to searching, i.e. officers sweeping bit by bit in a particular direction or radius, or whether the progress/direction of the search seemed dictated by some unknown (or known) intelligence? And also, do we know whether it had been searched previously in the course of the operation?

It is not that remote a location as far as I can see. Well frequented by hikers, photographers, dog walkers among others. The idea that he went there to end his life two weeks ago and that there's been an undiscovered body there ever since just makes my eyebrows twitch a bit.

jmo

Search ops are usually dictated by a grid, with each square having several factors that put it higher up the list of priority. Intelligence can very easily change the grid though. I’ll ask a friend and see if I can find something specific to Epping/similar.

 

[infinit]

Map showing - Smarts Lane, Blackweir Pond, Wake Valley Pond



Google Maps

If he went that way he'd likely have been picked up on the Robin Hood Thai's cameras assuming they were recording. Going right off Earl's Path onto the track and then taking a left at the trail junction further up towards Mount Pleasant takes him close to the pond without being seen and he wouldn't have been on the roads long at all for dashcams, sightings etc.

 

[Annabel8999]

I'm just thinking about him wearing a mask at times when he was by himself. It could show self-care, or it could be about shielding his face from the cold air but not taking a jacket out would contradict that.

I think it just didn't occur to him after leaving the taxi. Another thing that 'doesn't matter' or 'can't be arsed to do' to a suicidal person. MOO.

 

[shadwell]

I think thanks are due to Essex Police for the immense effort they have put in to try and locate RO. This included the use of a noisy police helicopter at 3am presumably with thermal imaging equipment to see if he was in the part of the forest to the south west of Loughton. My guess is RO was drawn to the Loughton area of the forest by the mysterious legend surrounding Blackweir Pond which is known by a number of names including the Lost Pond and the Hidden Pond. I think he must have done some research on the internet before making the trip. There are articles online linking the pond with access from the Central Line. I suspect the decision not to use the Central Line to go to Loughton may have been an essential part of his planning. Blackweir Pond is not easy to find even in daylight so he may have missed the right path and ended up at Wake Valley Pond. I have to say no one would travel across London with the intention of visiting Wake Valley Pond. Although I live in the area and drive past it regularly I didn't even know that pond had that name. It's all very sad but Essex Police did go the extra mile in trying to find him.

Though from a blog piece posted upthread I see the Wake Valley Pond was apparently cited as a contender in a search for the so-called “suicide pool” run by Essex Countryside magazine in 1959:
The killer/suicide pool in Epping Forest

 

[ApparentlyInDenial]

Does anyone know the previous search locations in Epping Forest for RO?

 

[KHA]

Does anyone know the previous search locations in Epping Forest for RO?

Try checking EverythingEppingForest @eefnews on Twitter. They’ve been pretty good at updating on the search efforts.

 

[infinit]

Does anyone know the previous search locations in Epping Forest for RO?

I believe they sent horses around most of the trails.

April 1st SAR and Police Nursery Road, Smarts Lane area
April 3rd morning SAR going along Earl's Path and Loughton Brook
April 3rd dogs used on Baldwins Hill
April 4th divers start but can't find anything stating where they started - There are pictures but I don't know the area well enough to say what bit of water they were in.

To me it looks like they were spreading out from the last sighting along obvious routes/locations and when they yielded nothing, started checking the deeper bits of water.

 

[SveJeMoguce]

Oh this is dreadful news. Poor kid.

I struggle to understand why a young man from Ladbroke Grove would have a connection with that area or the forest but then again, if he was depressed things don’t necessarily always end up being logical in any way at all.

This is a stretch but the first result I get on Google when I type "secluded London forest" is Epping Forest. Just an idea.

 

[ApparentlyInDenial]

I believe they sent horses around most of the trails.

April 1st SAR and Police Nursery Road, Smarts Lane area
April 3rd morning SAR going along Earl's Path and Loughton Brook
April 3rd dogs used on Baldwins Hill
April 4th divers start but can't find anything stating where they started - There are pictures but I don't know the area well enough to say what bit of water they were in.

To me it looks like they were spreading out from the last sighting along obvious routes/locations and when they yielded nothing, started checking the deeper bits of water.

Thank you. So it looks like their bounds until yesterday were Earl's Path, the A121 as eastern boundary, and Epping New Road as a western boundary.

 

[Cuko]

I just can’t get my head around Richard’s choice of Loughton/Epping Forest. His mother had never heard of the places and believed her son had no known connection with them either, although she could have been mistaken on that second point. It’s puzzling.

 

[infinit]

If they were going from the last sighting - They would have searched Baldwin's Pond and Blackweir Pond before they got to Wake Valley Pond (I'm assuming he was found by the divers here.) Would be interesting if they started with a bigger body of water further away straight away.