A body washed up on the seashore was today identified as a Shoebury teenager.
A police helicopter was launched to search for Russell Dent, 19, who had been reported missing in the early hours of yesterday morning.
The helicopter spotted his fully-clothed body on mudflats off Southend, about a mile into the Foulness Ministry of Defence ranges.
Police cordoned off the area at 3pm yesterday and officers had to scramble onto the mud to retrieve the body, which was laying face down in the water, before the tide came in.
A relative had contacted police with concerns about the teenager's state of mind after he had a telephone conversation with his father in France. Russell had been living with his grandmother in High Street, Shoebury.
His father has now travelled to England to comfort his mother.
Insp Richard Thomas, who was at the scene for about two hours, said: "We found a deceased man on the mudflats.
"We think he was carried by the tide, possibly from the East Beach area, but I cannot confirm this as the investigation is still in its early stages.
"We are not treating it as suspicious at this time."
Published Wednesday October 30, 2002
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