Car found in search for four Shrewsbury teenagers missing in north Wales

Officers with North Wales Police said the Silver Ford Fiesta was found after they received information from a member of the public.

The emergency services, including forensics officers, are currently at the location and the families of those involved have been kept informed and North Wales Police said a statement would be read to the media by Superintendent Owain Llewelyn at 4.30pm at its headquarters in St Asaph.

UPDATE - Four bodies found in police search for Shrewsbury teenagers reported missing in Wales

A police cordon has been set up on the A4085, a small winding country road, between Garreg and Pont Aberglaslyn, and the road closed. Two Wales ambulance service vehicles were seen driving through the cordon early on Tuesday afternoon.

A spokesperson from North Wales Police said: "Following information from a member of the public, officers searching for four missing teenagers in the Porthmadog area have located the vehicle they were travelling in.

"Police officers and colleagues from other emergency services are currently at the location and the families of those involved have been kept updated."

They add that further information will be released when available.

A search for Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Fitchett and Hugo Morris was launched in the early hours by police who are concerned for the four lads who have been missing since November 19.

The teenagers, all students at Shrewsbury College and understood to be former pupils at Meole Brace School in Shrewsbury, were travelling in a Silver Ford Fiesta registration HY14GVO.

Any sightings should be reported to North Wales Police, quoting reference number A184194.

A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We were called on Tuesday at approximately 10.08am to reports of an incident near the A4085 between Nantmor and Tan-Lan.

"We sent an operations manager, two emergency ambulances and two Cymru high acuity response units to the scene where we were supported by the emergency medical retrieval and transfer service in two Wales Air Ambulance charity helicopters." A mountain rescue team in North Wales has also confirmed it has been out looking for the four missing Shrewsbury teenagers.

It is believed the teenagers had gone camping in the Snowdonia area.

Although an A Road, the A4085 that runs from Penrhyndeudraeth to Beddgelert is narrow and extremely winding in places. It follows the path of what was the Glaslyn Estuary before the Cob toll bridge was built at Porthmadog. At times the road is barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass and travels from the valley floor up on to steep sided woodland. The area is part of the Snowdonia/Eryri National Park .

Parents share police appeal

The teenagers' worried parents reposted on social media the police appeal for information.

One wrote: “Please keep sharing… if anyone knows anything or can think of anything that may help find the boys please contact the police. We are desperate for any news.”

Crystal Owen, the mother of Harvey, wrote: “I am frantic with worry, one of these boys is my son Harvey, please please please share and tag anyone in

She said she did not know they were going on a camping trip and thought they were going to stay at friend’s grandfather’s house.

“I am frantically worried, we haven’t slept a wink, we are desperate to chase any lead we can,” she told the BBC.

“If I’d have known (where he was going) I wouldn’t have let him due to the winter weather conditions.

“They are all sensitive, intelligent lads and we are just hoping they parked up, got lost and are OK.”

One local person at the scene in North Wales who didn’t want to be named said he was woken up at about 5.30am on Tuesday by the sound of a helicopter.

"‘I couldn’t work out what it was at first, then I wondered why on earth a helicopter was up in darkness,” he said. He said the weather had been very wet over both Saturday and Sunday.