Body found in river is missing Lisburn man

Mr Partridge, from Harmony Hill, had been missing since February. He was last seen on Sunday February 14 at around 5.45pm near the Lagan Towpath.

The police say that they received a call on March 30 from a walker who had spotted a body in the River Lagan close to Gilchrist Bridge near Newforge. Search teams from the PSNI were called as well as the fire and rescue to try to locate the body.

Severe weather conditions hampered their search but the body was pulled out of the river at around 5pm at Stranmillis.

Police say that dental records confirmed that it is that of the body of Mr Partridge.

Police said that they had been following the National Search Strategy guidelines since Mr Partridge had gone missing. They searched the Lagan Towpath with sniffer dogs and a private underwater search company was used to search the river on two separate occasions.

On February 28, two weeks after the last sighting, police returned to the Towpath between Lambeg bridge and Lisburn, where uniformed officers handed out leaflets.