Update on search for Richard Scatchard

At just after 2pm yesterday afternoon (Thursday 4 April), we were called by a member of the public who reported the discovery of a man’s body inside a caravan, near Cleeve Hill, in Watchet.

The formal identification process has not yet been completed, but we suspect the man is likely to be Richard Scatchard, who was wanted on a prison recall and who we wished to speak to as part of a murder enquiry into the death of Kelly Faiers in Minehead in October last year.

Detective Superintendent Gary Haskins, of the Major Crime Investigation Team, said: “Kelly’s family have been informed of the latest development and we will keep them, and Richard Scatchard’s family, updated as our enquiries progress. Specialist family liaison officers continue to provide support to Kelly’s family at this difficult time.

“A forensic post-mortem examination will be carried out in due course, but we believe the man’s death occurred some time ago. Until that has been completed we will be treating the man’s death as unexplained, albeit we are not aware of any suspicious circumstances at this time.

“We would like to thank those people who have responded to the appeals for information we have issued over the past five-and-a-half months and will continue to update the public as our enquiries progress.”