Norfolk man James Whitman found dead after four-month search

The body of a man who has been missing for four months has been discovered on the outskirts of Norwich.

Police were called shortly before 11am on Tuesday after a member of the public found a body in a field off the B1108 Watton Road, between the River Yare and Colney Lane.

While formal identification has yet to take place, the family of missing 40-year-old James Whitman, from Gressenhall, who was last seen at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital on the evening of Monday 13 June 2022, has been informed.

When he first went missing, volunteers from lowland search and rescue, and the police dog and drone units were deployed to look for him in the areas around the hospital.

After media appeals, further sightings were reported to police, who then released a second image of Mr Whitman on the day he was last seen.

Four days after his disappearance, officers searched a lake close to the University of East Anglia in an effort to find him, as well as making house-to-house inquiries.

Police also appealed to the public to check their sheds and outbuildings for Mr Whitman as they carried out large-scale searches, and in the weeks afterwards began to trace any transactions on his bank accounts.

In September - nearly three months after Mr Whitman went missing - his parents made an appeal for anyone with information to come forward.

His father Stephen Whitman described the family's experience as "an absolute nightmare".

"We think of James every day: wondering where he is, if he’s on his own, if he’s scared or lonely, happy, or sad," he said.

"We wake up every morning wondering if today will be the day that we get some news but go to bed every night hoping that tomorrow will be different.

"It feels like someone has hit the pause button on our lives while others around us carry on their lives as normal.”

Mr Whitman's mother Sharon Sowinski said: "We try to be normal but often feel guilty that we are living our lives while we know nothing of James’s whereabouts.

"People stop us and ask how we are but it is difficult to know what to say. I can’t begin to explain our feelings and emotions because I can’t find the words."

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