THE man at the centre of a major search operation at the weekend has died in hospital.
Keith Michael Hope, 54, who lived with his wife Bernice in Glebe Terrace, Easington Colliery, County Durham, passed way in the University Hospital of Hartlepool on Monday afternoon, police revealed yesterday.
Police, supported by community support officers, the police helicopter, RNLI lifeboat crews from Sunderland and Hartlepool, and the Teesdale and Weardale Search and Mountain Rescue Team, scoured the countryside for him after he went missing on Saturday afternoon, having failed to return from a walk.
He was located by a second search by the helicopter on Sunday next to muddy water in woods at Little Thorpe Dene, south of Easington Colliery.
He was airlfited a mile to a waiting ambulance and then taken to hospital.
A spokesman for Durham Constabulary said that there were no suspicious circumstances and that a post mortem was being prepared for the county's coroner, Andrew Tweddle.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here