Tribute to 'precious son' after missing New Zealander found in Thames

12 April 2012

The family of a missing New Zealand man paid tribute to him today after his body was found in the River Thames.

Police searching for John Sleigh, 36, of Battersea, south west London, confirmed a body hauled from the river at Blackfriars Bridge earlier this week was his.

Mr Sleigh, an engineering draftsman, disappeared after a night in the capital's West End on Friday May 7.

His parents Peter and Caroline Sleigh, of Waimate, New Zealand, said they were "very sad that our precious son is no longer with us".

In a statement, they said "many questions" remain over how Mr Sleigh ended up in the water.

They said: "The days since Johnny went missing have been some of the most difficult in our lives as we waited for news from the other side of the world.

"We very much wanted Johnny to be found alive, but to our great sadness this has not turned out to be the case.

"It is a parent's hope their child will return safely from travels abroad and a parent's nightmare that something happens while they are away.

"We are thankful to the police and his friends that in the end Johnny has been found and that we can now focus on bringing him back home."

Mr Sleigh was last seen at the Guanabara Bar in Parker Street, Holborn.

Police appealed for information today to try and get to the bottom of what happened before he drowned in the river.

Mr Sleigh was seen on CCTV walking towards Oxford Street at 1.20am and outside Temple Tube station at 1.40am. Footage then shows Mr Sleigh crossing Hungerford footbridge at about 2am.

One theory is that he was trying to walk home but there is no sign of how he might have got into the water.

Detective Inspector Tim Dobson said cameras showed he did not walk off the bridge again.
He said: "We know from CCTV that there were several people using the bridge and any of them may be able assist us in establishing how Johnny came to be in the water."

More than 3,140 people had signed up to a "Find Johnny Sleigh" Facebook group by this morning. Some told how they had been posting flyers appealing for information about him. Mr Sleigh's brother, David, and sister, Catherine Booth, flew from Auckland to London to help in the search.

The missing man's friend Andrew Chin, also a draughtsman, told a New Zealand TV station he had been with him on the Friday night and the drinks were "nothing out of the ordinary".

Mr Chin said: "There was no talk about work, there was no talk about serious problems We were just having a laugh." He said he left Guanabara shortly before midnight but Mr Sleigh told him he wanted to stay longer, and he had other friends still in the club.

A homicide inquiry has been launched but police say at present there are no signs that the death was suspicious.

* Anyone with information should call the incident room on 0207 321 9251.

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