Police mystery solved

Following our report last week, police have confirmed that the man found dead in a Buckinghamshire woodland has now been identified thanks to a horse photo.

The photograph, which showed a farrier shoeing a distinctive coloured horse, was circulated by Thames Valley Police to media across the country.

Police received atelephone call from a woman in Warwickshire who had seen the appeal and recognised the man in the photo as her farrier. Police contacted the farrier, who went through his records and found details of the man who had owned the horse. Officers made inquiries and discovered the animal had belonged to the dead man.

PC Nigel Elmes, of Princes Risborough police, said: “Thankfully we are now in a position to contact this man’s next of kin. It has been a very detailed inquiry and we have been amazed at the response of members of the public keen to help in any way they could.

“I’d like to pass on the inquiry team’s thanks to the media who publicised the appeal and the photograph. I’m sure that without their help the inquiry would havetaken much longer.”

Inquiries are now ongoing to trace and contact the family of the dead man. He has not yet been formally identified, but is believed to have been 54 years old and from Princes Risborough.

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