Body of missing Leeds OAP was found in River Wharfe

A CORONER has recorded an open verdict at an inquest into the death a Leeds pensioner whose body was found in the River Wharfe six weeks after she went missing from a Wetherby care home.
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Police launched a major missing person hunt when Jean Jellings went missing from Wetherby Manor care home on the morning of February 20.

A body has been found in the search for missing Wetherby pensioner Jean Jellings, six weeks after she disappeared.

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Officers searching the River Wharfe for the 84-year-old recovered a body, but it has not yet been identified, police said today.

Detective Supt Pat Twiggs, who has overseen the search, said West Yorkshire Police was notified on Monday that a body had been recovered from the River Wharfe at Tadcaster.

She said: “We are continuing to liaise with our colleagues in North Yorkshire. The family of Jean Jellings have been made aware.”

Mrs Jellings was last seen going for her usual morning walk from St James Street at 5.30am on February 20.

She failed to return to the and was reported missing.

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Extensive searches involving specialist search teams and the police helicopter were carried out in the area in the following days, and local officers have continued to search key areas and distribute posters and leaflets appealing for information.

Exactly a month after Mrs Jellings went missing, officers went into the town to find more information. After reported possible sightings, police believed Mrs Jellings had walked along Westgate before turning on Castle Gate.

Previous searches had focused on the river and banks because it was known that Mrs Jellings liked to walk along the riverside and sit near the bandstand in the Wilderness.

Teams had also searched from near a sports club in Wetherby down the River Wharfe to just outside Tadcaster.