Appeal after unexplained death of Jack Ayres, 22

The body of a 22-year-old man was recovered from a rhyne near Street last week.

A member of the public called police at about 1.45pm on Monday 3 March to report they had found a man’s body in water close to Sharpham Drove.

The man has been formally identified as Jack Ayres.

A post-mortem examination has been carried out and the preliminary cause of Jack’s death has been recorded as drowning. The examination found no sign of any physical injuries.

We have spoken with Jack’s family to understand his movements in the hours leading up to his death. His last known location was when he was walking at about 2.30am on Monday 3 March along Sharpham Drove.

Jack is described as about 6ft tall, with light brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing dark clothing when last seen.

Jack’s family said:

“Nothing can put into words how we are all feeling right now. Jack was a much-loved son, grandson, brother, cousin, nephew and boyfriend. We know that nothing will bring Jack back, but we just want to try and understand the lead up to his passing.”

Detective Chief Inspector Clement Goodwin said: “Our thoughts are first and foremost with Jack’s devastated family.

“We want to do all we can to provide them with as many answers as possible about what happened to their son in the moments leading up to his death, and to do that we have been to nearby properties to seek any relevant CCTV footage.

“The lack of any physical injuries would suggest the circumstances of his death are most likely to be non-suspicious, but we are treating it as unexplained while further enquiries are carried out on behalf of the coroner.

“We would ask any motorists who were travelling in that area during the early hours of Monday 3 March to please check any dashcam footage and come forward if they have something that can assist our enquiries. Any information would be gratefully received as it may be able to help us provide Jack’s family with greater clarity around what happened.”