We assisted until late afternoon the following day. With much regret, Stella’s body was discovered during one of the searches.

We at the marine unit would wish to publicly offer our sincerest condolences to Stella’s family.

We are called to attend many similar incidents around Essex and we draw upon experience from these incidents to compare with the events in mid-August.

One matter requiring comment, is the response of the local community.

Without exception, the response was quite outstanding.

The volunteers from the RNLI, beach patrol, Clacton water-ski club and Coastguard auxiliaries joined with the public in the search for Stella.

Although the incident resulted in a tragic loss of life, the community of Clacton should view with some pride the response from its volunteer units.

Not only did they all behave in a totally professional, competent manner, but they did so in the middle of the night and throughout the following day.

We would like to state our admiration for all of the public who responded.

The spirit within the community was solid and all of those that attended contributed valuably to this operation.

Sgt Andy Ford
Essex Police Marine Unit