The body of a man thought to be convicted sex offender Richard Scatchard, who went missing on October 16, has been discovered in a caravan just across the Devon border. Avon and Somerset Police had been pursuing Scatchard due to his prison recall and for questioning relating to the death of Kelly Faiers in Minehead during October of the previous year.
Upon discovery by a member of the public, police were alerted to the caravan near Cleeve Hill, Watchet, on Thursday, April 4. Though formal identification has not yet taken place, law enforcement officials believe the body belongs to the 70-year-old Scatchard, who is thought to have passed away some time ago.
His cause of his death is currently being treated as unexplained and a forensic post-mortem will be completed at a future date. Detective Superintendent Gary Haskins from the Major Crime Investigation Team has said there are no known suspicions surrounding the circumstances of his death, reports Somerset Live.
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DS Haskins stated: "Kelly's family have been informed of the latest development and we will keep them, and Richard Scatchard's family, updated as our enquiries progress. Specialist family liaison officers continue to provide support to Kelly's family at this difficult time."
"A forensic post-mortem examination will be carried out in due course, but we believe the man's death occurred some time ago. Until that has been completed we will be treating the man's death as unexplained, albeit we are not aware of any suspicious circumstances at this time."
"We would like to thank those people who have responded to the appeals for information we have issued over the past five-and-a-half months and will continue to update the public as our enquiries progress."
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