Police response to missing person report - West Yorkshire Police, May 2018

At 2.14pm on 29 May 2018, West Yorkshire Police (WYP) was contacted over concerns for a man who was missing from his home. Police officers carried out various enquiries in an attempt to locate the man and subsequently found his body six days later. A post-mortem examination established that he had died from natural causes.

We obtained documents and statements from officers regarding the risk grading of the incident and the enquiries made to locate the missing man.

After a thorough examination of all the evidence, we concluded that the officers’ actions did not cause or contribute to the missing man’s death. Throughout the investigation, there was no indication that any police officer had behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings or committed a criminal offence. All officers co-operated fully with the investigation.

We concluded our investigation in 2019 but waited for the man’s inquest to take place, in January 2020, to publish its outcome. The coroner reached a conclusion of death from natural causes.