During a nearby search operation, police looking for a poet who vanished at a music event discovered a body.
Bromley native Gboyega Odubanjo, who had been asked to perform poetry at the event the next day, was last observed at the Shambala music festival in Kelmarsh, Northamptonshire, at around 4 a.m. on Saturday.
A social media campaign was started by the 27-year-old’s family, friends, and supporters from throughout the nation, and search parties were set up in the area.
Northamptonshire Police stated in a statement on Thursday that they had tragically discovered a corpse while searching for a missing 27-year-old man from Kelmarsh.
“On Thursday, August 31, just before 9 a.m., during a targeted search of the area, police officers uncovered the discovery.
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The man was last seen at the Shambala event early the day before, on Sunday, August 27, when he was reported missing.
Although the individual has not yet been formally identified, his family has been notified and is receiving help from highly trained cops.
Detectives were in charge of the search operations, which also included Northamptonshire Search and Rescue volunteers, qualified police search consultants, neighborhood and response policemen, a police diving team, and search dogs.
It is believed that there were no unusual circumstances leading up to the death.
The University of Hertfordshire offered a PhD in creative writing to Mr. Odubanjo.
He went to the festival with friends, but in the early hours of Saturday he lost contact with them.
Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell said: “We would ask the public and the media not to contact the man’s family and to respect their privacy at this extremely trying time. Our thoughts are with the man’s family.
“We would like to thank everyone who helped in the search efforts, especially the voluntary Northamptonshire Search and Rescue members and the expert search-trained officers from other forces who helped support our efforts.We also want to express our gratitude to everyone who helped us with our inquiry by speaking with police or providing information.
“Northamptonshire Police officers will now create a file for the coroner,” was the statement.
His writing has featured in publications like the Guardian, Poetry Review, and New Statesman.
