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Daniel Williams: Police find body in lake at university in search for missing student

Nineteen-year-old disappeared after night out at Reading campus bar

Chris Baynes
Tuesday 05 February 2019 16:55 GMT
Missing teenage university student Daniel Williams, who disappeared during the early hours of Thursday
Missing teenage university student Daniel Williams, who disappeared during the early hours of Thursday

Police searching for a missing student in Reading have found a body in a lake on a university campus.

Officers discovered the body during the sixth day of a search for Daniel Williams, 19, who had not been seen since the early hours of Thursday morning.

The teenager was reported missing after failing to return to his student accommodation following a night out at a bar on the University of Reading’s Whiteknights campus.

Superintendent Stan Gilmour, Thames Valley Police’s area commander for the town, said: “Tragically officers searching for Daniel have located a body.

“While the identity of the person who died is yet to be established, we have informed Daniel’s family and are providing support to them.

“Please could I make an appeal to respect the privacy of Daniel’s family at what must be a deeply difficult time for them.”

Police said the death was unexplained but not being treated as suspicious.

The university said it was “providing support to Daniel’s close friends”.

Mr Williams, originally from Sutton, south London, was in his second year studying computer science.

Police launched a major search aided by volunteers, firefighters and the National Police Air Service following his disappearance.

Mr Williams’s family also distributed leaflets appealing for information on his whereabouts.

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