Lancashire Police have confirmed that a body has been found in the search for missing teenager Luke Fingleton, 19, who was last seen on March 27. Luke, from Bacup, had been reported missing by his family, prompting a large-scale search.
He was last spotted at around 9.30am on Thorn Bank in Bacup, and CCTV footage later showed him at a McDonald’s restaurant the same day. He was believed to have links to north Manchester as well as Bacup and Haslingden in Rossendale.
Tragically, officers confirmed that a man’s body was discovered on Saturday (April 6) in woodland off Haslingden Road in Rawtenstall. While formal identification is still pending, police believe the body is that of Luke Fingleton.
A Lancashire Police spokesperson said:
“We have an extremely sad update to bring you about our search for missing Luke Fingleton who was reported missing from his home in Bacup by family last Sunday. Numerous enquiries have been ongoing to find Luke since then. However, yesterday afternoon the body of a man was discovered deceased in woodland off Haslingden Road in Rawtenstall. While formal identification has not yet taken place, we believe it to be Luke.”
They added that Luke’s death is not being treated as suspicious and that a file will be passed to the coroner.
“Our thoughts are with Luke’s family at this devastating time. This is not the outcome anybody wanted. We would just like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who shared our appeals and, again, pass on our deepest condolences to Luke’s family.”
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