Police have issued a statement with emergency services at the scene
Floral tributes at the Pier Towers, Withernsea, for Grace Keeling, Sarah Keeling and Mark Ratcliffe(Image: Donna Clifford/Hull Live)
A body has been found on Withernsea beach during the search for teenager Grace Keeling, police have said. The discovery comes following the tragic disappearance of 15-year-old Grace who was swept out to sea in rough weather two weeks ago.
Humberside Police say emergency services and HM Coastguard are in the Holmpton Road area and are in the process of attempting to delicately recover the body from among the rocks. The discovery was made on Thursday morning but tide times and conditions have meant recovery “could not be immediately carried out”.
Grace was tragically swept into the sea at Withernsea on Friday, January 2 in a tragedy that left the East Yorkshire town in mourning. Her mum Sarah Keeling, 45, went in to try and save her and also lost her life, along with 67-year-old passerby Mark Ratcliffe, who tried to help them both.
The bodies of Sarah and Mark were recovered on the evening of Friday, January 2. The alarm had been raised just after 3pm that afternoon, prompting a multi-agency search and rescue operation involving the Coastguard, RNLI, Humberside Police, Humberside Fire and Rescue Service and Yorkshire Ambulance Service.
The search continued for Grace on Saturday, January 3 in treacherous winter weather including snow and freezing temperatures, but was called off in the late afternoon.
In a statement today, Detective Superintendent Simon Vickers, of Humberside Police, said: “At around 8.30am [on Thursday], a body was discovered by Humberside Police Search Advisors. However, due to tide times and conditions, despite every effort it was not possible to carry out a safe recovery before high tide. The location was secured overnight using specialist equipment, and a cordon remains in place around the area.
“Today (Friday, January 16), officers and specialist teams have been working to explore every possible option in very complex circumstances to delicately recover the body. However, due to tide times, conditions and the location, the recovery could not be immediately carried out and has therefore been paused until it is safe to resume.
“Whilst no formal identification has taken place at this time, we recognise that this discovery comes after 15-year-old Grace Keeling was swept into the water on Friday, January 2, and extensive searches have followed over the last thirteen days to locate her.
“I appreciate this update will understandably cause concern to members of the public. However I would like to offer my reassurance that we have a dedicated team of specialists who are doing everything they can in their efforts to carry out the recovery as safely and as quickly as possible.
“Specialist officers have been in contact with Grace’s family to make them aware of this discovery, and we would please ask people to refrain from speculation with consideration and respect for their privacy. We would also ask the public to avoid the area to allow emergency services to work safely.
“Further updates will be provided as soon as we are able to.”
In the aftermath of the tragedy, tributes were paid to Mark – “a loving husband, father, son, brother and the best grandad anybody could ever wish for”. His family described him as a ‘selfless hero with a heart of gold’ and his grieving hometown of Withernsea echoed the sentiment.
Grace and Sarah were from Sutton-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire.
During the extensive search operation, the tight-knit, shocked community in Withernsea came together to support those involved, and in the days that followed, tributes including flowers and teddy bears were left at Pier Towers near the scene.