The bodies of four teenage boys who went missing during a camping trip in North Wales have been discovered inside an overturned and partly submerged car.
The victims, identified as Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Henderson, and Hugo Morris, all college students aged between 16 and 18, had intended to go camping in Snowdonia over the weekend.
The last known sighting of the group was on Sunday morning, travelling in a silver Ford Fiesta.
Concerns escalated when the group failed to return home to Shrewsbury on Monday, prompting their families to raise the alarm.
Tip from the public
The search intensified, and on Tuesday morning, police received a crucial tip from a member of the public.
Following the lead, law enforcement discovered the overturned vehicle partially submerged in water, approximately five miles from Porthmadog, where the group was last seen.
The sombre revelation has left the teenagers’ families and girlfriends in shock, as authorities work to piece together the events leading to this tragic outcome.
The circumstances surrounding how the car they were travelling in came to leave the road, are under investigation.
Extensive search
Supt Owain Llewellyn, of North Wales police, said: “At present, this appears to have been a tragic accident, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the four young men at this very difficult time.
“This has been an extensive search involving a number of different agencies and volunteers, and this is sadly not the outcome that any of us would have wanted.
“I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank the emergency services and members of the voluntary search agencies and members of the public who supported us with this search.
“Whilst the search is concluded, there is an ongoing investigation to formally identify those within the vehicle and to understand what has led to this tragic incident.”
The boys were all A-level students at Shrewsbury Colleges Group.
The college issues a statement which read ‘We would like to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the four young men who tragically died in the suspected traffic accident. his news is truly heartbreaking, and our thoughts go out to those affected by this tragic news.’
