Lancashire Police identify man found dead in Leeds-Liverpool canal near M65 motorway in Hoghton
His identity was a mystery for months but police have since identified him by his fingerprints...
A man whose body was discovered in the Leeds-Liverpool Canal in Hoghton has been identified by his fingerprints.
Police were called to the waterway off Bolton Road, close to junction 3 of the M65 motorway, after a body was found by members of the public on February 12.
They had been carrying out maintenance to the canal when they made the tragic discovery. Officers attended, and the man’s body was recovered from the canal.
It was thought that he had been in the water for around a week before being discovered, and Lancashire Police said there were not thought to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.
Since then, a number of enquiries to identify the man have been ongoing, including DNA enquiries, but these had proved unsuccessful - until further analysis of his fingerprints provided a breakthrough.
The force issued a public appeal in April, providing a description of the man in a bid to identify him, so they could notify his next of kin.
He was described as being around 40-years-old and having brown hair. When he was found, he was wearing two pairs of socks, two jackets, a hoodie, a sweater and a pair of jeans.
He had used blue string as a belt and was also found in possession of some medication, which was believed to be Bulgarian in origin, but could also be purchased online in the UK. He also had a blue lighter, and some loose change with him.
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Mystery of man’s identity solved
An inquest into his death was opened at Preston Coroners' Court on Thursday (June 4), where he was identified as Kalpeshbhai Patel, a 48-year-old man born in India, who had been living in Blackburn.
Senior Coroner Chris Long said Mr Patel had been identified using his fingerprints and he had likely died from drowning.
He said: "The circumstances reported to me indicate that the deceased may have died by drowning, and there is no reason to suspect the cause of death is unnatural."
A final inquest will be held at Preston Coroners' Court on October 1.