The bodies of four teenagers reported missing after a camping trip have been found in a partially submerged car in north Wales.
A wide-scale search for Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Henderson and Hugo Morris started on Monday afternoon when the group failed to return home from an overnight camping trip to the Snowdonia area.
Just after 10am on Tuesday, police received a call from a member of the public saying they had found a car which had veered off the road in Garreg, about a 10-minute drive from the area where the group had planned to camp.
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Police found the car the boys had been travelling in, a Ford Fiesta, partially submerged in water.
The bodies of the four teenagers, who were reportedly aged 16 to 18 years old, were recovered from inside.
Superintendent Owain Llewellyn said while the search for the boys had ended there would be an ongoing inquiry to formally identify the teens and to “understand what has led to this tragic incident”.
“Our thoughts are with (the families) at this desperate time,” he said.
Wilf’s girlfriend Maddi was “heartbroken”, her mother said on social media, adding Wilf was a “kind young lad”.
“I am absolutely heartbroken for Maddi and all of the boys’ families involved,” Lisa Corfield said.
“Wilf was such a lovely, kind young lad and treated Maddi in a way a mother could hope her daughter be treated.
“Thank you for bringing so much love and happiness into Maddi’s life and for just always being there for her, I promise to look after her for you.”
Harvey’s mother, Crystal Owen, had earlier told the BBC she did not know her son was going on a camping trip but instead believed he was going to stay at a friend’s grandfather’s house.
“I am frantically worried, we haven’t slept a wink, and we are desperate to chase any lead we can,” she said.
“If I’d have known (where he was going) I wouldn’t have let him due to the winter weather conditions.”
According to the BBC, the teens all attended Shrewsbury College.
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