Police searching for Richard Okorogheye, 19, say they have found a body in a pond in Epping Forest, Essex.

Officers and police dogs were searching the forest for a fifth day when they made the discovery on Monday afternoon. Richard's family have been informed of the development and are being supported by specialist officers.Det Supt Danny Gosling said the body has yet to be formally identified." A post-mortem will take place shortly, as will formal identification", he said.

"This is an extensive inquiry and we are working tirelessly"."Our officers and specialist search teams and dogs have been carrying out extensive searches since Richard was last seen on CCTV in the area", he added.

Officers have been seen at the pond since the discovery.

The Oxford Brookes student, who has sickle cell disease, was last seen by his family on 22 March, when he left their home in the Ladbroke Grove area of west London.

Police said he then took a taxi to a residential street in Loughton, Essex, where he was last seen on CCTV in the early hours of the following day, walking towards Epping Forest.

The force previously said Mr Okorogheye's phone had not been in use since his disappearance. He did not take his medication or any money when he left home.

Mr Okorogheye's mother, Evidence Joel, previously said her son had been "struggling to cope" with his business and IT degree.

Many questions, No answers

There is urgent and important work to do as there is a body to identify and a cause of death to establish.

Detectives must piece together the puzzle of how that person ended up in the pond.

Richard's family and friends are waiting anxiously for answers too;What drew the 19-year-old student from his home nearly two weeks ago? Why did he travel across London then head for the forest after midnight and was anybody else involved?