Body in river confirmed as missing West Midlands man
A body found in the River Severn in Shrewsbury has been confirmed as missing West Midlands man Ashley Atkins.
Police officers confirmed a body had been recovered from the water on Wednesday afternoon before formally identifying it as the 33-year-old on Thursday.
West Mercia Police have informed Mr Atkins' next of kin who have requested their privacy be respected at this time.
Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the incident are ongoing and police say they currently have no further information to release.
West Mercia Police has referred the case to the the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which it said is standard practice.
An IOPC spokesperson said: "We have received a referral from West Mercia Police which will be assessed to determine whether any investigation by the IOPC is required."
Police were looking for Mr Atkins, who was reported missing on Tuesday.
The search began after a car was spotted in the water at Frankwell Quay, near to Theatre Severn and Guildhall in Shrewsbury.
Police recovered the car with the help of Shropshire Fire and Rescue service.
Suspicious
They believe it could be a vehicle that was reported to have been acting suspiciously in the area.
Police remained in the Frankwell Quay area of the river yesterday after the vehicle went into it in the early hours of Tuesday, with teams from South Wales Police assisting.
A 39-year-old man and a 27-year-old man - both from Birmingham - were arrested in Shrewsbury on Tuesday on suspicion of conspiring to commit burglary.
They have both been released pending further investigation.
Officers are investigating the possibility that the two incidents are connected.
Specialist officers with an underwater camera arrived in the county town at about 9.30am yesterday.
They scoured the river for several hours between Frankwell Quay and the Boathouse from a rescue boat dangling the camera into the water.
Anybody with information can call West Mercia Police on 101 quoting incident 18N of 16 April.
Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org
