Rudyard Lake: Body of teenager found after police and rescue services search in Staffordshire

A body has been found after a lake was searched for a missing teenager.

Three young men, believed to be about 17, were spotted in Rudyard Lake, which is a few miles north-west of Leek in Staffordshire. Police were called just after 9.30pm on Saturday night, and said two of the teenagers managed to get out and were taken to hospital. But a statement from Staffordshire Police has confirmed that a body has been recovered in the search of the lake.

Police said that specialist teams have been searching the area on Saturday night and throughout Sunday, with the help of volunteers from Staffordshire and Cheshire Search and Rescue Teams.

Just after 5pm on Sunday they recovered the body of a 17-year-old boy. His death isn’t being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for HM Coroner. Trained officers have been sent to his family.

Chief Inspector Mark Barlow, from the Moorlands local policing team, said: “Our thoughts and condolences are very much with the boy’s family at this distressing time. A large number of officers and emergency service personnel have been working around the clock and through the night since this was first reported to us.

“I’d like to thank the members of the public who respected the cordon and avoided the area whilst we worked at the scene. This is a tragic case and one which I know will cause a great deal of sorrow in the local community. Our priority now is about making sure we can do everything possible to support the boy’s family.”

Emergency services took down the cordon last night.