The mother of a young man who went missing in Thailand for nine days has provided a sorrowful update confirming that his body has been discovered.
Joshua Kershaw, hailing from Grimsby, was last spotted in the tourist hub of Pattaya on January 12. Scheduled to fly back home from Bangkok on January 19 at 8:30 PM local time, the 21-year-old did not board the flight, prompting a search effort with UK authorities categorizing him as a high-risk missing individual.
In an effort to locate Joshua, his family launched an appeal, and a GoFundMe campaign was initiated. However, this morning, his mother Jenny, from Wakefield, shared a heart-wrenching update on Facebook, stating, “As much as my heart is breaking right now, we have now located Josh. Unfortunately, he was not alive. We are now working on repatriating his body to the UK.”
Numerous individuals responded with messages of sadness upon hearing the news. One person expressed, “So sorry Jen, thinking of you all right now. Been thinking of you all week, was praying he was safe. So sad, RIP Josh.” Another commented, “Absolutely heart breaking Jen. Thinking of you, your beautiful girls, and family! Sending you all so much love.”
Additionally, someone shared, “Absolutely devastated for you all, what a gorgeous boy he was inside and out. You’ve got this Jenny, you’ve got all of us. Love you so much xxxx.”
Jade Kershaw also relayed the tragic news on a GoFundMe page dedicated to finding Joshua. She mentioned, “Our beloved nephew, Joshua, who had been missing in Thailand, has sadly been found deceased in his hotel. This is not the outcome we were praying for, and our family is completely devastated by this loss.”
She extended gratitude to everyone who supported the cause and stated that all funds raised would now be utilized to bring Joshua back home and cover funeral arrangements. The family requested continued thoughts and prayers during this challenging period of grief and acceptance.
Please remember to keep our family in your thoughts as we grieve and try to come to terms with this heartbreaking news. Thank you again for standing with us during this unimaginable time.