Mystery as ‘multiple bodies’ found in woods

Devon and Cornwall’s police and crime commissioner said ‘multiple dead bodies’ had been found - but a police spokesman said that was not correct - Olivier Vergnault

Multiple dead bodies have been found in Cornish woodland, a police and crime commissioner has claimed.

Devon and Cornwall Police have been searching a wooded area near Sticker, Cornwall, since the body of missing man, Daniel Coleman, was found there earlier this month.

On Friday, Alison Hernandez, the police and crime commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, said “multiple dead bodies” had been found at the site.

Human remains have been found in a woodland on Friday - Olivier Vergnault/CornwallLive/BPM

Ms Hernandez said: “We’ve got a huge forensic tent down there. Lots of forensics officers. Obviously we’ve found dead bodies in that wood.

“We’re just trying to establish how many there may be at this point in time and whether we are aware of who they are or what might have happened to them.

“So we also don’t know how long they may have been there, some of them.”

Ms Hernandez added that officers from the National Crime Agency and other police forces were assisting with searches at the site.

“Some of the elements of that operation I can’t speak about but some of the things are very obvious,” she said.

“As you know there is a large crime scene that has been identified in Cornwall that is requiring a lot of effort to even scene guard the area.

“The level of expertise, some of the mutual aid we’ve brought in, is expertise in specific types of investigations that we didn’t have. The National Crime Agency is supporting the organisation at the moment.

“I want to thank all the other forces that are coming in at a very busy time for themselves to offer mutual aid. It’s largely investigative mutual aid that we’ve brought in. Until some of those elements have been established of exactly what we’re dealing with there, it will be made public at that time.”

Det Supt Jon Bancroft, of Devon and Cornwall Police, refuted the claims made by Ms Hernandez and said only one body had been found in the woodland.

He said: “I can categorically state that we have recovered remains believed to be those of Daniel Coleman only from an area of woodland in Sticker. No other remains have been located at this scene to date.”

Det Supt Bancroft added: “It is imperative that we continue to respect the integrity of the formal court process and ensure the administration of justice is not compromised in any way. We hope members of public understand that, for this reason, we cannot comment further on the defendant or the investigation.”

James Desborough, 39, was charged with the murder of Coleman earlier this month. He is due to appear before Truro Crown Court on Aug 8.

It is alleged that Coleman, from St Austell, was killed between June 2 and July 7. He went missing on June 1.

A large crime scene remains in place as officers continue to evaluate the scene - Olivier Vergnault/CornwallLive/BPM

A large crime scene remains in place at the woodland.

According to CornwallLive, the police force has put in place private security, a “temporary air exclusion zone” and a large cordon to protect the scene.

There was also an area cordoned off by red tape, which is usually used to demarcate dangerous or high-risk scenes that need to be preserved.

An officer from Staffordshire Police told the newspaper that the tape was in place to mark an area for “officers’ training”, however.

West Mercia Police has previously confirmed that its officers are also assisting at the scene.

Det Supt Kev Till, of Devon and Cornwall Police, has also said previously that Home Office-approved scientists and NCA experts were involved in the investigation.

A spokesman for Staffordshire Police confirmed its officers were assisting the investigation.

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