Found Deceased UK - Richard Morris, 52, British Diplomat, Farnham, Hampshire, 6 May 2020

[Atoz]

Also, I don’t know if you have read all the news articles (I have a case local to me)- police have stated they don’t think there was third party involvement.

As a local, what else are the residents saying? It'd be good to have an insight into things locally.

Are there any particular areas you think might not have been searched that might be good to do so?

 

[TheRovingAmbassador]

Also, I don’t know if you have read all the news articles (I have a case local to me)- police have stated they don’t think there was third party involvement.

Indeed, I read that as well. This would perhaps explain the low key press coverage thus far, as well as the reason why the family haven’t spoken out to raise awareness. On the other hand, it remains baffling that he would choose this route to kill himself. If it is a very wooded area, could it be that he had an accident while running and fall in a trench somewhere and the search activities were not thorough enough (plus the challenge of getting enough people together for a search party in the midst of a pandemic)? I read somewhere in a FB comment that part of the possible trail where he may have jogged is along a ridge, and anybody falling off that ridge would be difficult to find. But in that case one would presume it would be the hotspot to start looking. How do you see that, as a local of the area?

 

[TheRovingAmbassador]

[

As a local, what else are the residents saying? It'd be good to have an insight into things locally.

Are there any particular areas you think might not have been searched that might be good to do so?

my questions exactly! Very pertinent.

 

[Atoz]

Indeed, I read that as well. This would perhaps explain the low key press coverage thus far, as well as the reason why the family haven’t spoken out to raise awareness. On the other hand, it remains baffling that he would choose this route to kill himself. If it is a very wooded area, could it be that he had an accident while running and fall in a trench somewhere and the search activities were not thorough enough (plus the challenge of getting enough people together for a search party in the midst of a pandemic)? I read somewhere in a FB comment that part of the possible trail where he may have jogged is along a ridge, and anybody falling off that ridge would be difficult to find. But in that case one would presume it would be the hotspot to start looking. How do you see that, as a local of the area?

Regarding the lack of press coverage and family appeals, could that also be indicative it being a hostage situation? Taken for diplomatic leverage or ransom?

Perhaps it's far fetched, but I would expect a similar low key approach from authorities.

 

[Truecrimemytime]

As a local, what else are the residents saying? It'd be good to have an insight into things locally.

Are there any particular areas you think might not have been searched that might be good to do so?

I can share what I’ve heard locally- I spent Saturday at Alice Holt forest (met friends for a cycle) where the police searched in detail. People are speculating locally that he may have tripped and fallen (or committed suicide) in a body of water...there are a couple of large lakes in and around Alice Holt. And I don’t believe they have been drained or searched.

Another area I think would need intense searching is the countryside/woods surrounding Binsted- caveat being, I don’t know how heavily this area has been searched already.

In terms of having tripped and fallen- not impossible, but if he was on a running trail, I would have thought he would have been found. I have to say, I’m not aware of the ridge (may just been an area I haven’t been to).

 

[TheRovingAmbassador]

Regarding the lack of press coverage and family appeals, could that also be indicative it being a hostage situation? Taken for diplomatic leverage or ransom?

Perhaps it's far fetched, but I would expect a similar low key approach from authorities.

hmmm, but the police said no foul play was thought to be involved.

 

[TheRovingAmbassador]

I can share what I’ve heard locally- I spent Saturday at Alice Holt forest (met friends for a cycle) where the police searched in detail. People are speculating locally that he may have tripped and fallen (or committed suicide) in a body of water...there are a couple of large lakes in and around Alice Holt. And I don’t believe they have been drained or searched.

Another area I think would need intense searching is the countryside/woods surrounding Binsted- caveat being, I don’t know how heavily this area has been searched already.

In terms of having tripped and fallen- not impossible, but if he was on a running trail, I would have thought he would have been found. I have to say, I’m not aware of the ridge (may just been an area I haven’t been to).

More than 4 weeks after a disappearance one would think the search area would have been expanded

 

[Truecrimemytime]

More than 4 weeks after a disappearance one would think the search area would have been expanded

Strangely, the police have actually announced (in same post as one saying no third party involvement) that they are scaling back the search now!

Search for missing UK diplomat scaled back

Weirdly, the more I read, the more I wonder about the river/lakes and whether that’s why a body hasn’t been found...

 

[dotr]

FWIW..
Reminded of an unrelated Canadian case involving a respected H.S. teacher, an avid jogger who went missing and was ultimately (and inexplicably ) found deceased near water.
Book written by a Ws poster..
https://www.amazon.ca/Mysterious-Death-Jeffrey-Boucher-away-ebook/dp/B00LSWEE3S
''He went out for his morning run and never came back. He didn't tell anyone where he was going.

The disappearance of suburban Dad Jeffrey Boucher triggered a major manhunt and intense investigation, both of which failed to turn up any clues. “Mr. Boucher quite simply appears to have vanished,” said a homicide detective assigned to the case.

In the days and weeks that followed Boucher's disappearance, both his wife and daughters became targets of unfounded online suspicion. Then, months later Boucher's naked body was found by a dog walker on the shores of one of the Great Lakes.

Journalist and private investigator Ann Brocklehurst asks, "What happened?"

 

[Frivolous]

Weird how this isn't getting lots of press coverages.

 

[dotr]

June 11 2020
Police scale back search for missing diplomat Richard Morris
"It has now been five weeks since the 52-year-old former ambassador to Nepal and dad of three went missing from Bentley at around 10.30am on Wednesday, May 6.

He was spotted a short while later on Isington Road, Alton, but mysteriously hasn’t been seen since.

Specialist officers have searched more than nine square kilometres of land in their efforts to find Mr Morris.

Alice Holt Forest, including Lodge Pond, the River Wey, the Alton to Farnham railway line and areas surrounding Alton and Binstead have all been combed by officers, assisted by British Transport Police and Hampshire Search and Rescue Service.

Officers have also viewed CCTV footage, conducted house-to-house enquiries and followed several lines of enquiry – all of which has come to nothing.''

 

[Mind your biscuits]

Wouldn't we be thinking abduction if it were a female gone missing in similar circumstances? I can't think of many grown man abductions on country roads, except IRA and mob type situations.
I wonder where he was posted prior to Nepal? Moo.

 

[dotr]

Wouldn't we be thinking abduction if it were a female gone missing in similar circumstances? I can't think of many grown man abductions on country roads, except IRA and mob type situations.
I wonder where he was posted prior to Nepal? Moo.

Sad thought, but wondering if they are looking to replace RM, or have already done so?
British High Commission Suva - GOV.UK
Richard Morris (diplomat) - Wikipedia
Last edited 7 June 2020 rbbm.
''Career
Morris entered the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) through an open competition in 1990.

Morris was consul-general in Sydney, and had roles in New York, Mexico City, Bridgetown and Ottawa. He was head of the Pacific department at the FCO from 2013 to 2015.

In October 2015 he was announced as the next British Ambassador to Nepal, to succeed John Rankin in November. He served in this role until 2019, during which time he hosted Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex in the country for his 2016 tour.[4] He is due to become the next British High Commissioner to Fiji in July 2020.''

 

[TheRovingAmbassador]

Wouldn't we be thinking abduction if it were a female gone missing in similar circumstances? I can't think of many grown man abductions on country roads, except IRA and mob type situations.
I wonder where he was posted prior to Nepal? Moo.

He came to Nepal from Sydney where he was the UK Consul General. Nepal was his first ambassadorial posting. Then he was appointed as British High Commissioner to Fiji, and spent the time between the Nepal and Fiji postings in the UK where he disappeared.

 

[TheRovingAmbassador]

The silence around this case is baffling. Nothing in the press since 12 June.

 

[ZaZara]

The silence around this case is baffling. Nothing in the press since 12 June.

A few snippets from June 13 and then nothing. The bafflement is growing.

I was wondering if the perimeter of the area where Richard Morris allegedly disappeared has been searched. Think streams or roads he would have needed to cross if he had wanted to leave unseen. There was a different case a few years ago where the area was too vast and too complicated to search it all and they scoured the perimeter with specialized dogs instead. Traces of that missing man were indeed found, but they were such that the searchers concluded that that man had left the area and did not want to be found.

 

[TheRovingAmbassador]

A few snippets from June 13 and then nothing. The bafflement is growing.

I was wondering if the perimeter of the area where Richard Morris allegedly disappeared has been searched. Think streams or roads he would have needed to cross if he had wanted to leave unseen. There was a different case a few years ago where the area was too vast and too complicated to search it all and they scoured the perimeter with specialized dogs instead. Traces of that missing man were indeed found, but they were such that the searchers concluded that that man had left the area and did not want to be found.

Apparently they searched the area with dogs, horses, volunteers, drones, etc.

 

[jslk]

Just checked and there's an appeal for a jogger to come forward, captured on dashcam

Police appeal to find runner, to speak to him in connection to missing Richard Morris

Only local press though...

 

[dotr]

Just checked and there's an appeal for a jogger to come forward, captured on dashcam

Police appeal to find runner, to speak to him in connection to missing Richard Morris

Only local press though...

''The runner police want to speak to in connection with missing Richard Morris''
"If you have any information that can help us identify him please phone 101 and give the reference 44200160398."


Wish i could find the dash cam video on you tube, showing the uid jogger, the link to video is embedded in this link..
Dash-cam footage released in missing Richard Morris investigation | Hampshire Constabulary
''Do you recognise this person?
We are looking to identify the person in this footage as part of our investigation into missing person Richard Morris.
The footage is from a dash-cam and shows a man running on London Road at the junction with Lower Neatham Mill Lane, Alton, at approximately 12.30pm on Wednesday 6 May.
He was running in the direction of Alton to Binstead.''

 

[trendsetter]

The dashcam footage is here: Dash-cam footage released in missing Richard Morris investigation | Hampshire Constabulary

The man in the footage appears to be dressed very similarly to Morris who "was last seen wearing a blue, long-sleeved top with a zip, black shorts and blue trainers".

There appears to be a logo/motif on the left top of the runner in the footage.