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

[Sundried]

This is all very much speculation but if the body is confirmed as Richards and PM concludes that he took his own life this is what I think might have happened..

He took the bus from his home to get to the central line with the intention of going to a pond in Epping Forest. He didn’t take his coat because he thought that might somehow hinder drowning and didn’t want to take it off and leave it by the scene as evidence. He wore his mask on public transport to avoid any confrontations as to why he wasn’t wearing a mask. He was going to get on the central line to Loughton but for whatever reason decided not to and took a taxi to the closest street he could see on the map somewhere between Loughton station and the Forest. He got out of the taxi proceeded to walk up Earls Path where there are some ponds on the left hand side. Something stopped him stopping there, presence of other people perhaps. So continued on that road to the roundabout (CCTV for whatever reason didn’t catch him there or perhaps it did and we haven’t seen it) and then right again up Epping New Road until he reached Wake Valley Pond on his left. I’ll leave it there and again JMO but looking at the maps and the routes he took that’s where my minds gone with it.

 

[TizerisT]

Heres the pond beside the car park, only visible in Google Maps if you use traditional view instead of photo imagery.
No doubt this place has seen many weirdos

 

[infinit]

This is all very much speculation but if the body is confirmed as Richards and PM concludes that he took his own life this is what I think might have happened..

He took the bus from his home to get to the central line with the intention of going to a pond in Epping Forest. He didn’t take his coat because he thought that might somehow hinder drowning and didn’t want to take it off and leave it by the scene as evidence. He wore his mask on public transport to avoid any confrontations as to why he wasn’t wearing a mask. He was going to get on the central line to Loughton but for whatever reason decided not to and took a taxi to the closest street he could see on the map somewhere between Loughton station and the Forest. He got out of the taxi proceeded to walk up Earls Path where there are some ponds on the left hand side. Something stopped him stopping there, presence of other people perhaps. So continued on that road to the roundabout (CCTV for whatever reason didn’t catch him there or perhaps it did and we haven’t seen it) and then right again up Epping New Road until he reached Wake Valley Pond on his left. I’ll leave it there and again JMO but looking at the maps and the routes he took that’s where my minds gone with it.

This is a possible route I think he could have taken which would explain not being picked up on CCTV or being sighted. Assuming he doesn't know the forest well he could check out Blackweir Pond to see if it was suitable (orange) and then carry on after deciding for whatever reason it wasn't. He also gets to walk past the other body of water along the A104.

 

[annpats]

So his Mum would think he is still in his room sleeping and not cause her any alarm straight away.
It also buys him more time.

 

[Sundried]

This is a possible route I think he could have taken which would explain not being picked up on CCTV or being sighted. Assuming he doesn't know the forest well he could check out Blackweir Pond to see if it was suitable (orange) and then carry on after deciding for whatever reason it wasn't. He also gets to walk past the other body of water along the A104.

That makes more sense

 

[yoannaparis]

It seems he just wanted to disappear and didn't want his body found.

 

[infinit]

Just speculation but I wonder if he went to Blackweir Pond 1st, saw that actually it's quite open (picture attached) and decided it wasn't secluded enough for his liking?

 

[Beans]

<modsnip: Quoted post was removed>

This is the most uncertain part for me. What was he doing? Who was he in contact with, if anyone at all? And did something happen which influenced the outcome?

I still struggle with the lack of coat thing. It’s a long way to Loughton on a chilly night in March for a young person whose body doesn’t react well at all to colder temperatures. I find it hard to accept that he has the presence of mind to plan it all the way he perhaps seems to have done, but that plan didn’t extend to making sure he wasn’t held up by a reaction to the cold en route. Sure it’s possible, but that and the missing time stops me from feeling certain that this was definitely his plan when he left his home that night.

Maybe he took the taxi because he was cold?

 

[infinit]

Apparently cold water can trigger a crisis in people with Sickle Cell having just read up which could make him drowning himself viable without drugs etc.

 

[Sillybilly]

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[infinit]

Reading articles his mum mentions she cooked a meal when she got back for him (I thought she got back in the morning but I've clearly misread before). This makes me assume there were no signs he'd eaten that evening.

Could he have got food in W2? If he hasn't he's going pretty late without having eaten. I guess thought he might not have felt hungry if he was acutely suicidal.

 

[mizzyshader]

I'll happily go further into this if the PM comes back as suspicious or inconclusive. I just think when you apply Occam's Razor - His mum stated very early on in the investigation that he'd been struggling recently, he's ignored his mum's phonecall and then come off the network, he's not travelled there in an economic way, he's gone to a location a fair bit from his home and that he's unfamilar with apparently without his wallet all points to a lack of concern about what happens after. No need to explain what went on last night if you don't plan to be around in the morning, no need to worry about the cost of the trip because he won't need the money anyway, no need for his wallet because there is no chance he's going to want a snack on his way back into central.

Yeah I agree. I think the poor lad probably didn't want to be discovered too close to home, too soon (to be revived) or at all if it was a suicide. He likely knew that due to his ill health, people would be looking for him alot sooner than in other cases.
This is coming from my brain when I contemplated doing the same thing in the past. I didn't want anyone to find me as I wouldn't want to scar or hurt anyone in the process, especially not kids or anything so the local area would have been out of the question and I wouldn't have wanted to be found before I'd carried it through fully.
Either way it's super tragic and a terrible ending and an awful beginning for his family now.

 

[JuicyLucy]

Yeah I agree. I think the poor lad probably didn't want to be discovered too close to home, too soon (to be revived) or at all if it was a suicide. He likely knew that due to his ill health, people would be looking for him alot sooner than in other cases.
This is coming from my brain when I contemplated doing the same thing in the past. I didn't want anyone to find me as I wouldn't want to scar or hurt anyone in the process, especially not kids or anything so the local area would have been out of the question and I wouldn't have wanted to be found before I'd carried it through fully.
Either way it's super tragic and a terrible ending and an awful beginning for his family now.

They have kids in Epping too, though. If he was concerned about who might find him, surely anywhere at all in the open would be a no go for him?

Let's remember that the body recovered in Epping Forest hasn't actually been identified yet btw.

 

[reservoir_of_rage]

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.

Agree that for someone not familiar with the area a fair bit of research and planning would need to go into planning a suicide not local to where you live and there would be an evidence trail of that some where. I think it's more likely that he went to meet someone , local to the area who would know that is considered a suicide spot and hence a good place to arrange to meet someone who you may have intentions of harming. For someone who does not know the area, he would of needed a map/directions from smarts lane, and the young person's map of choice .. phone! If he didn't have a phone, (as apparently the SIM card had been removed from his phone), then he either printed a map or drew a map.. again leaving a evidence trail. Or is it more plausible he met someone at some point who took him there? I also think he may of had a second phone or second SIM as in the CCTV footage of him getting out the UBer he can be seen looking at a phone and the screen is lit up. Plus you need a phone to get a Uber. I strongly suspect foul play here

 

[Distant Observer]

This is a possible route I think he could have taken which would explain not being picked up on CCTV or being sighted. Assuming he doesn't know the forest well he could check out Blackweir Pond to see if it was suitable (orange) and then carry on after deciding for whatever reason it wasn't. He also gets to walk past the other body of water along the A104.

Yes I think that was the route but bearing in mind it was the middle of the night and there is absolutely no street lighting I think he simply didn't see the path to Blackweir Pond. He would be getting tired after walking uphill for 30 minutes and would just carry on along the track to the main road. Passing cars may have illuminated the Wake Valley Pond in the darkness and drawn his attention to it.

 

[annpats]

Reading articles his mum mentions she cooked a meal when she got back for him (I thought she got back in the morning but I've clearly misread before). This makes me assume there were no signs he'd eaten that evening.

His Mum works nightshifts and gets home around 0800hrs (when Richard is still in bed sleeping) so when she gets home from work in the mornings, she cooks him something to eat for when he wakes up later and leaves it out for him. (She'll be sleeping in bed herself until the afternoon.)
When he went out the night before (after his Mum left for work) he locked his bedroom door with a key. She didn't realise he wasn't even in there until she woke up later that afternoon and saw the food she cooked that morning was untouched - and the door was still locked. When Richard didn't respond, she got a locksmith to break in to his room.
Hope that's cleared it all up. Again.

 

[Lilbitcurious]

Does anyone know when RO got on/off the bus? I can’t find it

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

Does anyone know when RO got on/off the bus? I can’t find it

He took the 23 from Stop S Kensal House on Ladbroke Grove.

It is thought he alighted somewhere in Paddington/Edgware Road W2, but it has not been publicly stated precisely where.

 

[Commoner]

He took the 23 from Stop S Kensal House on Ladbroke Grove.

It is thought he alighted somewhere in Paddington/Edgware Road W2, but it has not been publicly stated precisely where.

It's not been stated where, but I've wondered all along if it's somewhere near Paddington station - large, anonymous, somewhere where there will be people milling about even in lock down. And right next to St Mary's hospital - the likeliest one for someone in that part of London to attend (it's a large teaching hospital). So it's likely to be an area he knows well.

But that's JMO. It wasn't listed by the police as an area he frequents (they were Fulham and Westminster, weren't they?) and that night the only definite thing is that he ended up somewhere unexpected

 

[Louloulou]

I can't get my head around a possible suicide in a pond scenario. If you are suicidal and enter a forest, surely the intention would be suicide by hanging JMO. I know anything is possible but it doesn't sit right with me. Could RO potentially have sat down for the night by the pond, passed out from hypothermia/health conditions and somehow ended up in the water?