Police have confirmed that a body found in a river at Tollerton is that of Luke Willetts, who has not been seen since leaving his home in the village on October 23.

They say the body, which was found in the Kyle Beck River at Tollerton following a call from a member of the public at 9.50am this morning, has not been formally identified, but have informed Luke's family.

But a spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: “Officers located the body, and while formal identification has not taken place, they have informed the family of missing man Luke Willetts of this discovery.

The Northern Echo: A body found in a river at Tollerton may be that of Luke Willets, 33, who has been missing since

"We are therefore cancelling the appeal to locate Luke and thank everyone who has called in with information on his possible whereabouts.

"A post-mortem will take place in due course but at this time officers do not believe there to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

"Our thoughts are with Luke’s family and friends at this extremely difficult time and we ask their privacy is respected."

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Luke, 33, had not been seen since leaving his home in Tollerton on foot and walking off in the direction of Alne at about 4.30pm on Monday October 23.

Specialist police searches were carried out in the area covering fields, woodland and water courses.

A police helicopter was also called in to help with the search, along with officers from British Transport Police.