A BODY found in Essex has been confirmed as a man who has been missing since December, police have said.

Officers have confirmed a body found in Maldon earlier this month is that of 69-year-old Timothy Hatcher. 

Essex Police was called to Cut-a-Thwart Lane at about 5.30pm on Saturday, May 13 after a member of the public reported a suspicious item in the water. 

This was later confirmed to be a body and following an extensive investigation including DNA enquiries and a forensic post-mortem, police have now confirmed this is 69-year-old Timothy Hatcher. 

His death is not being treated as suspicious and a file has been prepared for the coroner. 

Timothy was reported missing to Essex Police on December 20 last year, prompting a large-scale missing person investigation. 

Detective Superintendent Scott Egerton said: “This is terribly sad news, but I hope that this confirmation provides some closure to Timothy’s loved ones. 

“The investigation into Timothy’s disappearance was a significant one for us and included widespread searches across Chelmsford and surrounding areas.  

“Officers and staff, including search specialists, were involved in the investigation to find Timothy and we carried out around 400 hours of searching covering 5km of land and a 4km stretch of the River Chelmer.

“We had the support of Essex Search and Rescue, and utilised kayaks, sonar, and an underwater drone.

“We carried reviewed hundreds of hours of CCTV footage, analysed phone and financial data, and carried out house-to-house enquiries.

“This was a complex investigation and search and clearly this is not the result we had been hoping for.

“Our officers were supported by dozens of people in the community as well as Essex Search and Rescue and I would like to thank them for their support.”