ATTEMPTS will be made to piece together the final moments of a 35-year-old man who died after taking to a fast-flowing river in inflatable dinghy.

Mark William Allan was reported missing from his home in Brompton-on-Swale, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, in the the early hours of Saturday, by his partner.

His body was found on the banks of the River Swale later that morning.

A large-scale search and rescue operation was mounted, involving officers from North Yorkshire Police and volunteers from the Swaledale Mountain Rescue team, as well as a police helicopter.

Following a painstaking two-and-a-half hour search, Mr Allan’s body was found, several hundred metres downstream from where the search party was based, at the Bridge House Hotel, in Catterick.

Police said recent bad weather, including heavy rain and snow high in the Yorkshire Dales, may have meant the river flowed faster than normal, which may have taken Mr Allan by surprise.

David Rutter, who helped co-ordinate the efforts of the 13-strong search and rescue team, said the water temperature in the river would have been in single figures.

Officers were unwilling to discuss why Mr Allan had chosen to venture onto the river so early in the morning.

A post-mortem examination, to establish the cause of death, is due to take place, but police say there are no suspicious circumstances.

Acting Inspector Neil Northend, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of Mr Allan, and they have been given our full support throughout this very difficult time.”

No one from Mr Allan’s immediate family has yet paid a public tribute to him, but a comment from KelseyyLouu97, left on The Northern Echo’s website yesterday afternoon, read: “RIP Uncle Mark.”

Insp Northend added: “Police were notified shortly before 5am on Saturday, with inquiries developing into a missing from home investigation.

“A family member had woken up to find [Mr Allan] missing and discovered an inflatable dinghy was also missing.

“A search was carried out along the River Swale, from Brompton-on-Swale. Searches were made of the river, as surrounding fields and houses.

“The body of a man was found on the river bank. It would appear he had gone into the water.

“It had been raining the previous night and the river was faster-flowing than normal.”

Mr Rutter said teams of volunteers had combed both the north and south banks of the Swale during the search.

He said: “[Saturday] was a cold night and if someone was out during the night, it would have been very cold.

“Although the river looks calm and peaceful on the surface, there are quite strong currents underneath.”

Mr Allan’s yellow inflatable dinghy has not been recovered and anyone who has seen it is asked to call police, on 101.