THE Police in Essex, North East of London have found a body which they say matches the description of missing 19-year-old Nigerian student, Richard Okorogheye.
Richard’s mother, Evidence Joel said that officers informed her of the news on Monday evening and she intends to visit the station on Tuesday to find out whether or not the body found in Epping Forest is that of her son.
She had informed the police about 11days ago that her son who studies at Oxford Brookes University and admitted struggling to cope with academic pressure, left their home in the Ladbroke Grove area of west London on the evening of March 22 to go visit a friend but has not been home since then.
He was last seen on CCTV in Loughton, Essex, in the early hours of Tuesday, March 23, walking towards Epping Forest. Police divers had previously been seen searching the forest.
Evidence initially complained about the poor response she got from the Police when she reported her son missing who suffers from the sickle cell disease and didn’t leave home with the daily medications which he is required to take.
According to her, she was told by the Police that if she couldn’t find him, how can she expect them to find him.
“At the beginning they ignored me. I was nobody. I was just a black woman being frantic and overreacting about an adult who is 19, which we all know, these are vulnerable adults. I wish they had reacted earlier,” she told a newspaper.
The alleged response by the Police which many say has colouration of institutional racism has been widely condemned by the public and there are growing concerns about the wellbeing of Richard’s mum who says that everyday for her is a nightmare as she helplessly awaits information about her missing child.
“I feel completely helpless. Helpless, and also, sorry to use this word, but I feel useless. Because I want to go out there, to do something to look for him, search for him, anything, but I can’t”, she said of needing to remain at home in case he makes contact.
She added: “I don’t know what he looks like, how he’s feeling at the moment, if he’s breathing. I don’t know. I’m trying to be strong. It’s very difficult. I’m holding on but it’s very hard. It’s very, very hard.”