Family pay tribute to 'adventurous and fearless' boy, 17, found dead in Rudyard Lake

The family of a teenager who died after falling into a lake in Staffordshire, have described him as "adventurous, fearless and quick to smile".

Sonny Leese Clark, 17, from Leek was with two friends at Rudyard Lake on Saturday night, where police say they got into difficulty and fell into the water.

Staffordshire Police was called after the three young men were spotted in the water.

Two of them were taken to hospital.

Search and rescue teams recovered a body from the water at around 5.00pm on Sunday 25 February.

In a tribute, Sonny’s family said: “Sonny - our lovely, kind, good-natured boy. You had grown into a fantastic young man. Always helpful, adventurous, fearless and quick to smile. You were a very special and wonderful brother to your siblings, and our lives are diminished for your loss. We love you and always will. 17 and his life was just beginning the next chapter, his book was too short.”

Teams from Cheshire and Staffordshire Search and Rescue charities joined police at Rudyard Lake over the weekend. Staffordshire Police said:

"We have been offering our support to his family as much as we possibly can after the tragic news yesterday. The search efforts involved an array of emergency services, as well as volunteers who gave countless hours of their time to try and find him from the Cheshire and Staffordshire Search and Rescue charities.

"We know this incident has caused a great deal of sorrow in the local community and has affected so many people who knew him personally."Our thoughts and condolences remain with his family at this unprecedented and tragic time."We’d like to thank those who’ve left kind messages and sent their condolences to Sonny’s family, and we ask that their privacy is respected at this time."

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